What's a Guy to Do?
by Dante Alighieri1308
Summary: The mysteries of Anubis House have been solved and all is well at England's exclusive boarding school. Except for Fabian, who will be confronted with his toughest mystery yet. The mysteries of the female heart. Nina/Fabian or Joy/Fabian, Post Season 1 A/U
1. Celebrate like Victoria Beckham Would

_So this is my first HoA fan fiction, woo! I will mainly focus on Fabian's perspective of things, but sometimes I will switch off to other characters. And don't worry, future chapter's will be longer than this one. Expect about 13-15 chapters and for them to come out quick._

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HOUSE OF ANUBIS OR ANY CHARACTERS/LOCATIONS FROM THE SHOW FEATURED IN THIS STORY. ALL IDEAS HERE ARE MY OWN.**_  
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**Chapter 1 Celebrate like Victoria Beckham Would**

Anubis house was more festive than ever before. The dreary state that had inhabited the house for the past year was gone. All the mysteries of the house had revealed themselves to the housemate. Victor's plans were defeated, Joy was saved, and all that was left to do was to - as Amber put it - "celebrate like Victoria Beckham would." In other words, it was party time!

It was originally supposed to be just a few people, but Jerome and Alfie began inviting so many other students that it had to expand outside. Tents from the drama department had been set up out front, along with snacks and drinks lined on top of counters. Everybody was excited for the party.

Except for one person.

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_This story was written before the end of Season 1. For the purposes of this story's canon, Victor was the bad guy. How things went down ultimately isn't that important as the mystery only plays a minor role in the story. This is just shameless Fabina drama._

_DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!_


	2. Who's Nina?

_This is the first time I've ever tried writing romance, or even a full length story, so I hope you enjoy. Once again, I know that Victor may not be the bad guy, but go with it please!_

_Review!_

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**Chapter 2 "Who's Nina?"**

**Fabian P.O.V.**

'_Well, tonight's the night_," I thought to myself _'The night I decide my romantic future… Nina or Joy?"_

This was not a decision I really wanted to make. Originally, I thought I had a pretty clear plan for who I wanted to be with. Nina of course. But when we found Joy… things just happened.

_**Flashback**_

'_JOY!' Patricia screamed. Joy was tied up against a wall, her hands bond above her. Victor lay unconscious outside the room, knocked out by Fabian. Nina and the rest were outside, destroying the remaining chemicals and potions that Victor had created for his own evil purposes._

_Patricia struggled to get the rope off Joy's hand as Fabian rushed to help her._

"_You did it Fabian!" Joy said, shocked yet happy, "You knocked Victor out and rescued me!" Joy was finally released and jumped into Fabian's arms. "I can't thank you enough!"_

_Fabian gave an uneasy laugh, looking around him to make sure Nina was nowhere nearby. He dared not look Joy in the eye, fearing the emotions that might come back to him if he did. He loved Nina now, Joy was his past._

_Joy was still laughing, beautifully so. Her voice seemed to echo in Fabian's mind over and over again. "Stop thinking about it you dolt!" Fabian thought to himself._

_Joy looked up from her embrace of Fabian and saw that he wasn't looking at her, "Fabian, what's wrong?"_

_Fabian looked down at her, "Nothing is wrong!" Fabian said, uneasily. Joy gave a crocked smile; she knew when something was up with Fabian. She knew him too well._

"_If nothing is wrong, then why can't you gaze at me, Fabian?"_

_Fabian didn't want to. He wanted to only think of Nina. Nina Martin. The girl he had fallen head over heels for. But something in Joy's voice made him turn to her. Reluctantly he looked down at her and it happened. All the memories came rushing back, even though he wanted them to stop._

_He Loved Joy._

_He couldn't stop it. He kissed Joy and Joy kissed him. It was perfect, except for one person._

"_FABIAN!" Patricia shouted shocked. Joy and Fabian broke apart, Fabian blushing and Joy confused. Patricia looked horrified. "What about Nina?" She pleaded with Fabian._

_Fabian looked down at his shoes, while Joy looked confused at both of her friends._

"_Who's Nina?"_

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_Fabian's got to make some tough calls in the future._

_Once again REVIEW!_


	3. Can't Have the Best of both Worlds

_Thanks for continuing to read, the story will begin to pick up here and I hope that you are ready._

_Once again, I DO NOT OWN HOUSE OF ANUBIS!_

_Please Review_

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**Chapter 3 Can't Have the Best of Both Worlds**

**Fabian's P.O.V.**

_"Who's Nina?"_ Joy asked. God, it still rings in my ears. The minute Patricia explained it to her, Joy was stunned. Who could blame her? She thought her and I were going to get together. I thought we were going to get together too.

But then she disappeared, and I had no idea what happened to her. Then Nina came, and she... she was special. It wasn't just her accent or the way she acted, but something about her made me want to be with her constantly. At first I thought it was just because she was interested in finding Joy, but now I know.

It was because I had fallen for Nina Martin.

And this was different from Joy, I felt connected to her. More than any other person in the solar system let alone the planet. I was planning on kissing her, I was going to do something romantic with her, but nothing ever happened. There was always some pathetic reason why, too many people around, always another clue, or I just got to shy or something stupid like that.

There was a knock at the door. "Oi, Fabian!" Mick shouted through the door, "You ready yet mate? The party's started already."

"Yeah," I replied, "just a second." I finished buttoning up my shirt and stepped outside my room. There were a few people wandering around the kitchen. The sound of music was all about me, but not loud enough that I couldn't hear people next to me.

Mick had already wondering off somewhere with Amber and I decided to go find Joy. _'NO! I mean Nina!"_ a part of me said, _"She probably doesn't want to talk to me right now, better go find Joy."_ Another part said. I tried to block them out and decided to just look for both of them. The kitchen and living room didn't have that many people in them; the majority of the party was focused outside. Jerome was there hitting on girls. It looked like he wasn't doing so well. I went outside and saw both Nina and Joy. They were on opposite sides of the lawn. Nina was getting a drink, while Joy was talking with some old friends, but every now and then I noticed that she would look up and stare at Nina, as if examining her in a petri dish.

I sensed someone come up next to me. "So, which one do you fancy?" Patricia said, leaning against the open doorway.

"Not now, Patricia." I said back to her. Patricia gave a look of disgust at me and turned to survey the party. Things got awkward in the ensuing silence and I'm pretty sure Patricia caused it on purpose.

"So," I started, laughing uneasily, "I bet that it's kind of weird for people here to think that we're having a party for Victor leaving. Though... nobody like him I suppose so I guess they're alright with-"

"Oh save it Fabian!" Patricia interrupted. "Listen, I know that you may _have_ liked Joy. But right now, your future is with Nina, and I think that you should go out with her."

I laughed softly, "I didn't know that you were such a fan of Nina, Patricia."

"Her and I are buds now!" Patricia said, "Best buds even! But I'm a bester-er buds with Joy, and I know that what you might have had with her will not last as long as with what you have with, Nina."

I sighed. this was going to be a weird night, I could tell. "You don't know that Patricia."

"Hmm, trust me.." she said getting close to be ear before whispering, "I know."

"Look I could make due without your love advice Patricia. Maybe you ought to give it to Mara." I said, pointing to our fellow housemate. Mara was looking sad, watching Mick and Amber dance to the music. "Or hey! Maybe even Alfie could do with some!" Alfie was also looking at Mick and Amber dance, but was only interested in Amber, completely ignoring the other girls around him. Why girls were attracted to his ridiculous party outfits, I have never been able to figure out.

Patricia stared at me again, "You can't have the best of both world Fabian, you'll need to decide whose world you want to live in. I've given you my advice, but really, it's up to you. Everybody in Anubis House has an opinion, some want you and Joy and some want you and Nina. Decide tonight. Or else." She smiled at me and walked away. I have to admit, I was concerned about that last sentence.

"Or else what?" I asked as Patricia laughed and smiled. "Or else what?" I asked again, bounding down the front door steps into the party after her.

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_Expect an update Wednesday_

_Next Chapter: "We're Going to Play a Game."_

_REVIEW!_


	4. We're Going to Play a Game

_As Promised, an Update. I hope you enjoy this chapter, I was worried it might turn out a bit weird, but I'm comfortable with it._

_Once again, don't forget to review!_

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**Chapter 4 "We're Going to Play a Game."**

**Patricia's P.O.V.**

"Patricia wait!" I heard Fabian call out behind me. With my back turned to him, I smiled. I had him right where I wanted him. Fabian belonged with Nina, not Joy. Joy was my friend all, more than Nina definitely, but I just fell as though she and Fabian could get hurt badly if they end up in a relationship. Plus the two of them would spend so much time together and I wouldn't be able to hang out with Joy myself. So I guess you can say that I was doing this for myself. Meh, I never claimed to be a saint.

In the end it was Fabian's decision. Whichever girl he got with was fine with me. But I was bored and wanted a little drama.

Fabian finally grabbed onto my arm and turned around. My face went neutral. _"Fabian I'm going to make you sweat." _I thought, and then proceeded to mentally smile to myself.

**Fabian's P.O.V.**

I finally caught up to Patricia. She was not longer gloating or smiling. Her face was neutral, and a bit disturbing to me. I had never seen her so tranquil.

"What do you mean 'Or else'?" I asked for the third time. Her face remained emotionless. I could see that she was struggling to keep herself contained.

"We're going to play a game." She said finally.

I laughed. "A game? You want to play a game now? Patricia, I think you've run out of drama."

She lost her composure for a second to show off a smile. "Have you ever watched some of those old Disney movies, where by midnight, a magical spell wears off and the beautiful fantasy that the main character, the princess, has been living in is ruined?"

I was a bit shocked, and my face must of shown it. Patricia continued anyways. "Well tonight, you will get to be that Princess Fabian. And the rest of the night will go something along that line of princess themes."

I was even more confused. "What in God's name are you talking about, Patricia?"

Patricia finally lost her composure and started to laugh. "By midnight, I expect you to have admitted to either Nina or Joy that you love them."

I balked for a moment, shocked by Patricia's demand. "And how exactly do you expect to enforce this fairy tale theme Patricia?" I asked in my most controlled tone.

"If you don't tell one of them, I will destroy your relationship with both of them, and ruin your chances of ever getting with either one of them." Patricia responded easily.

My mind must have been playing tricks on me because I then saw flashing lights appear behind her like lightning. I then realized that it was the strobe lights that Jerome had gotten from the drama department.

I was nervous, again. "What are you going to tell them? What could you possibly have against me?"

"Well," Patricia said, moving nonchalantly around me "I could tell Nina that you enjoyed a nice snogging session with Joy after you saved her, or I could show her some photos of you and Joy. Mara does really good work with cropping shots as we learned with Mick."

That was pretty bad I decided, but with Joy, what could she have? Nina and I certainly didn't "make out" as an American would say; and she can't use our midnight sneak outs against me.

"As for Joy, well, I've been a regular at the House of Anubis library. It has some very interesting reads, and one of the most interesting books is a diary." I stiffened; I already knew where this was going. "Yes, you know don't you?" Patricia asked smugly, "It has some passages that Joy might find interesting. It's weird, Nina has a bad habit of writing everything down." She stepped closer, "and when I say everything, I mean everything!"

I was, as the American's say, in a pickle. Could Patricia really be this desperate for some drama that she would stoop this low? '_It's Patricia, it's not that hard to answer.'_ I thought.

She smiled again and walked away, leaving me to contemplate the rest of the evening. I expected to dance and talk with some friends, but now...

'_This just sucks.'_ I thought.

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_Alright, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I struggled over putting this part into the story, but I feel confident that it was the right move. Expect an update either Friday or Saturday._

_Next Chapter:_

_"Witch of the West"_


	5. The Witch of the West

_Update! Definitely one of my longest chapters ever, so I hope you enjoy. Plenty of Drama._

_Review_

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**Chapter 5 The Witch of the West**

**Nina's P.O.V.**

The party was in full swing now. People were dancing all over the place, the music was rising in volume, and the organized mob of students on the front lawn soon become unorganized. It reminds of my first party back in the 7th grade when me and some of my friends got together at the end of the year and danced the night away. It's also the night when I got my first kiss.

'_Maybe, just maybe, I'll get lucky tonight.'_ I thought to myself, '_Who am I kidding? Fabian isn't interested.'_

Thinking about him made me search the crowd for his figure. It was kind of hard to see each individual face with the flashing lights going on and off, but I found him after a brief scan. He was standing right outside the house, almost in shock it looked like. He blinked a couple of times and began scanning the crowd. He saw Joy and stared at her from a bit. My checks must of gotten red because some people began to point at me. _"Silly American,"_ I could hear them think in their devious British minds.

He was still staring at Joy and I saw her look up and smile back. Fabian quickly averted her eyes and Joy giggled. She whispered something to her friends, who also laughed, and began moving towards Fabian.

My mind began to work into overdrive. She was still far away from Fabian, and I would like it a lot if I was the first girl he talked to at this party. _"I might get to spend some more time with him, I haven't been able to lately."_ I looked around, what could I do to slow Joy down. Short of throwing some fruit punch at her nothing came to mind. I finally spotted Mara in the crowd, still sitting in the same spot that I left her in 15 minutes ago with that same look on her face. I rushed over to her.

"Mara," I began putting my hand on her shoulder. She turned around, her eyes red.

'_I don't think it's because of the lights.'_ I thought to myself sadly.

"Yeah Nina, what do you want?" She asked, pulling her sleeve to her eyes. I pitied Mara, none of us realized it until the end of the year, but with Sibuna going on and Mick and her fighting about something constantly, Mara was pretty much alone most of the year with nobody to hang out with. '_I feared that would be me after my first day here, I guess I got lucky.'_

"Listen, can I asked you for a favor?" I began in a kind voice.

Mara shrugged, "What is it?" she asked.

"Can you go to talk to Joy for me?" I asked as Mara looked confused.

She scoffed, "Why?"

"Because, I need to…" I hesitated for a second, but decide it was ok, "I need to talk to Fabian before Joy does."

Suddenly the glum look on her face disappeared and a small devious smile appeared on her face. "How long to you need?" she asked.

"About five or so minutes at most, but longer would be great!" I said.

Mara nodded and began moving towards Joy, who wasn't even halfway to Fabian yet. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised by her willingness to help. It was a way to get her mind off Mick, I guess. And I had also heard that Joy and her weren't always the best of friends. With Mara being into geeky things and Joy not so much, Joy must have had a lot of time to make fun of Mara. Amber told me that the jokes got pretty bad and Mara was demoralize a lot, even contemplating leaving the school. No wonder she seemed happy when Joy suddenly disappeared, I don't even remember her welcoming Joy back. I guess it was pretty easy to imagine this is the best possible way to get back at a person who made your life miserable since you were little. Have them watch as their love interest is taken away from them.

'_Nothing meaner than High School girls.' _I remember my Gram telling me after my first week of 9th grade.

Moving through the crowd, I finally reached Fabian who was once again scanning the crowd. When he saw me, he gave a big smile. I blushed, '_He didn't smile for Joy.'_ I thought. I began to laugh a little, high school girls could be pretty mean I guess.

**Fabian P.O.V.**

Once Joy saw me I decided to pretend I didn't see her. I wasn't really in the mood to talk to her anyways. But I was too late, she had already said goodbye to her friends and was heading over to me.

Suddenly Mara appeared and began talking to Joy. I knew that look Joy gave to Mara, it was the fake interest look that she gave during Geometry and most of the school subjects, except maybe Drama and English. They were talking quite a bit and Mara was smiling happily, which was a bit weird considering that it was Joy that she was talking to.

I didn't have much time to think about it because Nina came up to me from the crowd. I smiled at her. I wasn't exactly looking to talk to her either at that moment, but she was an amazing sight for sore eyes.

'_Wait, did that come out wrong?' _I thought to myself. She began to laugh a little and her checks turned red. '_She looks so beautiful.'_ I thought to myself.

"So, you going to hang out here all by yourself?" Nina said, laughing again. It was a sweet laugh and it was hard to get offended by it at all.

"Well you know me, not the most sociable person." I mentally kicked myself. What kind of guy tries to impress a girl with that kind of line?

'_But what about Joy?'_ that voice in my head said. I tried to forget about it, but it was still fresh in my head. There was an awkward silence afterwards.

"So how does this party compare to American parties?" I asked, once again mentally kicked myself for coming up with such stupid small talk.

Nina didn't seem to mind, "It's pretty nice." she said looking up. I could of swore that she was looking at Mara. "It's not as crazy, which is nice I guess. Much better looking people here too." Her eyes went wide, and her face was pretty red too.

"Hey, it's not our fault that we got the better end of the gene rod." I said smiling. I knew she found it kind of cute when I used by science terms. It must of worked, because her embarrassed look soon turned to laughter. I laughed too, relaxing for the first time that night.

**Joy P.O.V.**

Nod, nod, small comment. Nod, nod, small comment, short laugh. '_God will this geek ever shut up?!'_ I thought to myself. Mara had been droning on and on and it didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon.

It started off polite with a _'H__ow are you?'_ and '_how's the party?'_ kind of small talk. But now after several minutes of chatter we had now somehow gotten into talking about porcupines and how they continue to die for medical research. I hope for her sake that she finishes up soon, or I'll have to shut her up, hard. My friends behind me looked about the same, although they didn't have to fake a kind expression. Mara just keep going and going, I never knew she could talk this much!

I averted my eyes for just a second to find Fabian. I had expected him to move but he was still in the same position. I sighed a breath of relief until I saw why he was still standing there.

That witch of the west was with him. And they were laughing. Together. Mara keep talking, saying my name sometimes to get my attention. I'd look at her for a second and then back at Fabian. My Fabian.

I finally lost it when I saw Nina grab onto his shoulder, laughing so hard. Fabian put his head on top of hers and laughed to. They looked peaceful and content. To peaceful and content.

I finally had it, enough with this geek.

"Mara," I said. She stopped talking and looked me, with those naïve eyes that some may call attractive. I just call them sad. I was going to wreck her.

"Listen, while porcupines may suffer, they won't suffer as much as you will if you don't move. There isn't much damage that I can do really. I mean your social life is nonexistent, your makeup once again looks awful and do I even have to say it? Your clothing style is a disaster! Guys won't come near you with that on because it's like you dressed yourself up with porcupines. A dreadful mix I'm afraid. But don't worry," I leaned in closer, "I can think of something to do."

I expected her eyes to be teary, but instead they were defiant. Something had changed about Mara while I was gone, she was more confident, more determined, and while she was still a geek, she didn't show it as much. She looked at me and smiled.

"Joy, do you know why so many porcupines are dead?" I seriously wanted to strangle her right about now.

"Nobody gives a - " I began, but Mara stepped in front of me, grabbed my wrist and looked me straight in the eye.

"It's because they are used to test new drugs and sometimes beauty products such as facial creams and perfume. It's a shame that they had to die for nothing."

"What are you talking about, geek freak?" I spat at her. She only continued to smile.

"How long did you spend working with makeup for this party tonight? Half an hour, maybe a full hour? Well I can tell you that Nina worked on herself for maybe 5 or so minutes, and she looks radiant, doesn't she? Able to capture the eye of any boy at this party. She used hardly anything, while you used products produced through porcupine genocide. All I know is that many of those porcupines looked much nicer than you right now."

I felt such rage, this geek was talking to me like she was better than me! I heard somebody laugh in the distance, loud enough for it to break through the music. It was the witch laughing, and Fabian trying to calm her down, while laughing himself. I felt my face go red. "Careful Joy, your eyes twitching." Mara said. "So insecure aren't we?" I ripped my wrist away from her hand and moved towards Fabian. I would get her back, somehow.

_**Mara P.O.V.**_

When she was gone, I sighed and then laughed a little to myself.

'_I did it! I stood up for myself!'_ I felt so accomplished. More accomplished than ever before, even when I received my first all A's report card. Nina was laughing with Fabian, Joy was pissed, I was happy. I didn't realize it until I tried to laugh again, but my throat hurt from all that talking. Time for some punch.

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_Ok, I always got the feeling that Joy and Mara may not get along well. Don't ask me why, but I do. For now things are looking good for Fabina, but who knows? Stories change a lot, and Joy is crafty._

_Next Chapter will be either tomorrow or Sunday._

_Title: Chapter 6 The Puppetmaster_

_REVIEW!_


	6. The Puppet Master

_Sorry if this chapter isn't that great, I was watching the Super Bowl at the same time._

_Review!_

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**Chapter 6 The Puppet Master**

**Mara P.O.V.**

After wading through the throngs of people, I finally made it to one of the snack tables. I started to pour some of the punch into my cup when I realized how badly my hand was shaking from the excitement of what I just did. My long time enemy was defeated; I began to silently laugh to myself as I imagined myself riding up on a horse shooting down the mighty dragon that was Joy.

I turned around, now remembering why I was so glum. Amber and Mick were still dancing, moving very close to each other, practically breathing on one another. I sighed, trying to imagine that it was me who was in Amber's place, only to also remember the even sadder fact of I didn't dance.

I sat down again, feeling defeated. I sensed somebody moving up next to me, sitting down to my left. Patricia sat backwards on the chair facing me. She smiled "Enjoying the show, Mara?"

I bit my lower lip and sunk down lower into my chair, turning away from her. "Oh come on Mara, you know I was joking!" Patricia said, "Look I'm sorry that I wasn't really there for you during the year when you needed me with you and… Mick. But I'm here now and I want to help!"

I continued to ignore her. It was easier to do then with Nina who was so nice and understanding. Since the mystery was solved, her and I had become good friends. It was also part of the reason that I agreed to help her, dissing Joy was just a positive development in the plan.

"I heard about what happened with you and Joy, half the people here do!" Patricia said. I looked at her with shock, I wasn't aware that we were speaking that loudly.

"How?" Was all that I could manage.

Patricia smiled, "Alfie was nearby, he was pretty impressed and began talking to other people. Probably helps Nina if Fabian hears that Joy hates geeks."

No matter what, I could never figure out Patricia. She was a complete mystery to almost everyone. One minute she would hate somebody's guts and the next she would be all friendly and everything.

"You want Nina and Fabian to get together too?" I asked exasperated. Joy was Patricia's best friend, I would of thought that she would at least stand by her friend and help her gain Fabian's heart. Seeing this betrayal made me angrier. I was easy for Patricia to just change "sides" because she honestly didn't care what happened as long as she got her drama. It was the same with me I guess during the year, my "episode" with Mick was the newest drama to her, and the reason why she helped me, but when she joined Sibuna she got more drama than with what I could provide her. I just got the feeling that she only searched for Joy just for the drama.

"Of course I do!" Patricia answered, which snapped me back to reality "Fabian and Joy are all wrong for each other! Sure they may both be beautiful and stuff, but beyond that they have nothing in common. It's the same thing with Mick and Amber!"

'_Oh boy here we go…'_ I thought to myself.

"Look, I'll help you get with Mick. Think of it as a … 'I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you during the year' gift." She said, smiling slightly "So what do you say?"

I stared at her hard. I wanted to believe her, that she could really help Mick and I, but I felt like she might backstab me or something. I decide to take the plunge in the end.

"Ok, what do you have in mind?" I said sighing as Patricia smiled.

"Go talk to him now." She got up and moved away as I sat with my mouth open.

"THAT'S ALL?" I said standing myself and looking right at her. She turned around and shrugged. I felt the anger once again boiling up inside of me.

"What?" she responded. "Do you want me to tell you to run up, throw the two grinders apart and kiss Mick?" My eyes looked down, giving my answer. She moved towards me , putting her hand on my shoulder. "Start small, and I'll be back." She moved away into the crowd, moving back towards the house. Joy had just arrived next to Fabian, forced to talk to her friends about our "conversation" much to her embarrassment. Joy grabbed him by the arm and pulling him closer. Fabian was still giggling, but Nina stopped.

'_I'm not the only girl with problems tonight at least.'_ I thought, pitying my friend. I only found solace in the fact that I had given her a good 10-15 minutes with Fabian. Mick finally broke apart from Amber and started coming towards the me. Actually... he was going for the snack table behind me.

Here's my chance.

**Jerome's P.O.V.**

The party was definitely in full swing when I walked outside. There were a lot of single girls hanging around the place, but I always preferred the girls who stayed inside or away from the main party. They were always smarter and usually hotter. Mainly because they aren't as sweaty.

Smarter.

That's a quality I never would of thought I would look for in a girl when I wanted to date them. My eyes scanned the crowd, finally finding Mara. She was breathing kind of fast, looking attractive in her new clothing. I smiled, until I saw why she was breathing that fast. Mick came up and she approached him, waving shyly. He said something and they began talking, while I began looking for Amber, praying that she would break up the discussion. But she was busy with Alfie and his stupid costume.

"They're nice together, are they not?" Patricia asked, coming out nowhere. I looked at her, trying to understand who she was talking about, hoping it wasn't either of the two love potentials. I suddenly had a devious idea. What other kind is there?

"Patricia, I have a proposition for you." She looked up at me, she didn't seem interested, but she was listening. "Could I ask you to get Mara to come into the house, preferably the kitchen?"

Patricia looked confused. "Wow, everybody at this party has turned you down, haven't they?"

I wasn't amused. "Patricia, I know that you have this strange idea that you can sort everybody into these love groups, or something like that. But I like Mara, and I'm a better thing for her than Mick, who will prime at 21 and fall at 25. Please, do this for me?"

I couldn't believe what I was saying, I was practically down on my knees begging, something I had never done. But I didn't have many people who actually like me, and I always felt that Mara was somebody who cared. So right now, I could suck it up.

"Please, please oh great puppet master! Help me!" I said in a semi-mocking/pleading tone. Now I was on one knee, and Patricia started to look around her, hoping nobody was watching this bizarre scene. I continued, "Pull some strings, do your thing, please, please, please?" I began to hold onto her leg, and I saw the discomfort in her eyes. People began to look. She managed to get out of the embrace, and walked away.

"Fine!" she shouted back, disappearing into the party while I did a victory dance.

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_The next chapter will probably be Tuesday, and most likely two chapters._

_Chapter 7: One Final Push_

_Chapter 8: Anubis's Exotic Flower_


	7. One Final Push

_Hey sorry for the delay in update. You can blame my Economics teacher for that. I promised before that I would put up two chapters, but after reviewing the next chapter (chapter 8) I decided to scrap it and work it out again. Before you start reading a couple of A/N that ARE VERY IMPORTANT!_

_1.) **Anonymous Reviewer's **- I want as many reviews as possible, so I do accept anonymous ones. However, some of the more recent anonymous reviews are getting... out of hand. So please:__ NO POTENTIAL spoilers for the story line, don't insult other reviewers, and keep you comments clean. That was your warning, if it happens one more time anonymous reviews will be blocked_

_2.) School has started to pick up, from now on expect an update every three days._

_3.) Does anybody know why they aren't doing nightly new episodes? It's kinda annoying._

_Please **REVIEW** (Although pay attention to the guidelines above)_

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**Chapter 7 One Final Push**

**Fabian's P.O.V.**

She close. Very close. Her breath was practically on my cheek, not that I minded, but I felt kind of awkward. People began looking over at us, their eyes giving off many different feeling.

"Is that Fabian with Nina?"

"I thought he was with Joy?"

"They look cute together though."

In the beginning, I tried to ignore the greedy eyes, looking for drama, but it was pretty hard. Only when I looked at Nina did I completely forget those trivial feelings of discomfort. It felt right to be with her, and I didn't mind the eyes. My concerns went away; my words and jokes flew out of my mouth at ease. No more awkward silence, no more problems, no more drama, just Nina and I enjoying each other's company.

_'As friends,'_ the voice in my head said.

_'Wait... What?'_ The other voice said. I didn't have much time to dwell on it as Joy appeared and looped her arm through mine and pulled me close to her. I was still laughing from the previous joke that Nina told and I couldn't help but notice that the smile had disappeared from Nina's face. Joy, however, looked happy.

"Hey Fabes, you enjoying the party yet?" Joy asked smiling. I could have swore that I saw somewhat of a smirk on her face and a quick glance at Nina, but it vanished fast and she directed all her attention back at me. "Come on, let's get something to drink and dance for a little. They've got some pretty good songs coming up that involve a lot of contact." Joy suddenly got really close to my face, and I tried to step back, but her arm was around me, preventing me from doing so. "And besides, I've been dreaming of some more contact since last time." She licked the top of her lip seductively. I know it's suppose to help to make boys fall head over heels for the girl, but I never really got it.

_'__Or maybe the wrong girl is doing it'_ the voice in my head said. I began turning towards Nina, but Joy's other hand looped around the left side of my face pulling me closer. She smiled again.

**Nina P.O.V.**

_'Was Joy really that much of a… Could this seriously be happening?'_ I thought to myself. Fabian was gone. Mentally that is, he just forgotten that I was right next to him. Joy had wrapped herself around him like the snake she was, and Fabian was just sucking it up all.

_'Enjoying the party YET?'_ Joy's voice rang in my head, _'Some pretty good songs coming up that involve a LOT of CONTACT'_.

_'What a heartless, jealous, brat!'_ I thought to myself. I wish I could do something. Anything to stop this. That's the problem with me, I don't go for all this flash and flair when it comes to getting into somebody's heart. I try to be myself, not some cheap girl. I thought Fabian wouldn't fall for that kind of girl.

I guess I was wrong.

**Joy P.O.V.**

Things were going the way they should be going. I have Fabian in the palm of my hand, and the American can do nothing but watch. My hand work on Fabian defiantly put Nina close to the edge, but I just needed one final push to fully captivate Fabian's attention for the night and destroy the America Witch.

Since I was rescued, I had done a fairly good job of keeping the two of them apart, but it was hardly permanent. I had to rely on Alfie to help me keep Nina distracted and Fabian away from Nina. It wasn't easy to convince him, but in the end he was the only one in the house who didn't really seem to care to much about this whole Fabina thing that sweep up everybody in the last couple of months. Plus it didn't hurt that I told him I'd put in a good word for him with Amber.

The time was right, _'She'll be destroyed'_ I thought to myself, _'but in the end, she'll move on. It is after all near the end of the school year. I doubt she'll want to come back at all.'_

And with that satisfying thought in my mind, I gave Fabina a one final push over the ledge.

**Fabian P.O.V.**

_'Joy looks spectacular tonight'_ I thought to myself finally. Her eyes were reflecting the lights around her, her checks had small dimples on them, and her lip stick-

_'Wait, WHAT?'_ I mentally screamed at myself. _'Don't go there Fabian, not tonight at least.'_ The memories came back however, saving Joy, releasing her from her bonds, that kiss that sent me into an bliss. I lost my train of thought as Joy began to speak again.

"Come on Fabs, we should get going. After all, these lips are getting cold and lonely." She said, leaning closer. I could feel the color rush to my face. "After all it's been so long since last time that I'm feeling rejected a bit." She smiled innocently.

_'She honestly doesn't know about me and Nina?'_ I thought to myself in shock. _'OH GOD! NINA!'_

"I'm sorry?" I heard Nina say behind me. Joy let me turn around and I saw the shock in her face, clear and present. "You two… kissed?" she breathed in disbelief. The last half of the sentence seemed like such a burden for her to say, I felt really bad.

"Oh god, I'm sorry Nina nobody told you?" Joy said, moving off of me to hold on to Nina. Nina, looked at me, but my eyes couldn't hide the truth. Her face changed and she let out a small gasp, "I thought that most people knew. Wait... you two are not...?" Joy asked with a look of confusion, pointing to both of us.

"No," Nina said, putting her lips together and forcing herself out of Joy's grasp. She looked down at the ground, still with a placid expression on her face. "No we're not together."

The words hit me hard. I couldn't believe it, Nina shut me out, all because of some stupid mistake that I made. Part of my mind was saying it was no mistake, making me want to just bash in my skull to end this charade. "So are you two together then?" Nina said, she was next to Joy, but I knew she was talking to me. I wanted to say no, but then that would destroy Joy.

"I thought we are, are we not Fabs?" Joy responded for me, putting her arm around mine and pulling me closer. This was it, the moment of the night, where I would decide who to profess my love to.

Turn down Joy?

Try it with Nina?

_'I wish I could freeze time,'_ I thought to myself in desperation. I didn't have to, as Nina didn't let me answer.

"Hey," she said, laughing uneasily, "I'm happy for you two. Congrats and everything Fabian." She turned around and walked away. I wanted to follow her and explain, but what good would that do? Joy clearly thought that after the kiss I had given up on Nina, that I would fall back into her arms. I couldn't blame her for thinking that, I mean I did kiss her and began to spend way more time with her then I did with Nina. Joy had begun to replace Nina in many cases. My seat mate, my best friend in the house...

and now apparently my love interest.

**Joy P.O.V.**

Inwardly I smiled, and I saw out of the corner of my eye my friends from the other houses smiling.

_'One final push'_ I thought to myself happily.

_'Time to move things along'_

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_Joy is such a heartless... nevermind, this is only rated T after all. Expect an update Saturday._

_Next Chapter:_

_"Anubis's Exotic Flower"_

**_REVIEW!_**


	8. Anubis's Exotic Flower

_Alright, next chapter. Sorry about the switching P.O.V.'s, but they're important to the future of the story. The reviews are great, thank you for not making me have to get rid of some. I hope you continue to review and enjoy this story!_

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**Chapter 8 Anubis's Exotic Flower**

**Mara's P.O.V.**

My talk with Mick failed.

When I say fail, I don't mean a B+ fail, no I mean a B- fail. When we started talking, things were going great, we were laughing and genuinely enjoying each other's company. But then Amber came and screwed everything up! Mick lost all interest and began kissing Amber in front of me! He didn't even have the decency to say goodbye! He just carried Amber away back to the dance floor, both of them laughing in unison.

'_Let's face it Mara,' _I began telling myself, _'Mick is not interested in who "understands" him and who wants him to succeeded, he just wants some pretty face to hang around his arm.'_

I began moving to my self dubbed "depression chair" again, only to find it already occupied.

**Nina's P.O.V.**

"Oh Mara, I'm sorry!" I said, wiping the forming tears from my eyes away, "Here let me get another chair." I got up from the chair and pulled over another. Mara sat in her original chair, still looking depressed, while I sat in the new one. My face must have still been red eyed and teary because Mara looked concerned.

"Nina," she asked softly, "How did your talk with Fabian go?" At the mention of 'Fabian' I let an involuntary tear slid down from my face. Mara gasped and put her arm around me, pulling me closer. "What happened Nina?" she asked concerned.

Despite everything that happened tonight I still smiled. Mara was beyond kind, no matter what happened around her or to her.

"Fabian and Joy kissed, and Joy thought they were a couple." I said, barely able to keep my voice steady. Mara gasped and she began searching the crowd for probably Fabian and Joy. She must of found them because her grip tightened on my shoulder.

"What's happening now between them?" Mara asked.

'_Hmph, forget what I thought about Mara being understanding! Making me relive that moment!'_ I thought angrily, but those feelings gave away when I saw her looking at me sympathetically. '_She only asked because she was trying to help.'_ I thought to myself. I couldn't believe that I would think Mara was actually that heartless, unlike some people I know.

"I guess they're a couple now." I said, wiping away another tear. "Joy played the part of innocent/seductive girl nicely. She had Fabian in the palm of her hand the second she appeared." I finally gave way and let the tears out. I no longer cared if anybody was watching me break down in the middle of a party. Maybe Fabian will see what he's done and feel bad. Devious, but might work.

I let go of the idea soon and continued to cry, while Mara held me tighter.

**Mara's P.O.V.**

'_The cruel harlot!'_ I thought while holding Nina, _'How could Fabian fall for her! He's smart! How could he not see the demon she really is?'_

Nina had been crying for a couple of minutes now and people began to look. Nina didn't really seem to care, but I did. I needed to end this now, somehow fix this. I thought about who could help.

Alfie was out of the question, he would goof up somehow. Mick could talk to Fabian, but he probably wouldn't leave Amber's side for anything. Amber herself was friends with Nina and could help, but she'd no doubt be really mad at Joy and do something stupid, accidentally adding more fuel to the out of control fire that was Nina's love life. That left only two people. I was hesitant to think about it, but Jerome could actually help, in some really weird way. He was good at pranks, he could mess with Joy or something and then give somebody the chance to talk to Fabian and understand fully what was going on in his mind. But then that would mean telling him the whole story and frankly, despite his cunning and loyalty to those who he really cared about, I don't think he could keep it a secret.

'_JEROME! He could drive Mick insane! OH this is perfect revenge!'_ I thought exuberantly, _'Stop Mara! Just stop, this is about Nina not you!'_ I mentally lectured to myself, turning my thoughts back to Nina.

There was only one person I could count on in times such as these, Patricia. She would know what to do, though she did give me bad advice on how to deal with Mick. _'It doesn't matter now._' I thought, 'S_he's Nina's only hope'_.

"Nina stay here, I'll be right back." I let go of her and moved away, diving into the crowd to find Patricia.

**Nina's P.O.V.**

Mara told me to wait, but right now I really wasn't in the mood to listen to anybody. I got up and began moving back towards the house, ready to enter my room and spend the rest of the night crying.

I kept my head down; I didn't want Fabian or Joy to see me. Better if they just forget me entirely.

'_You don't mean that! At least about Fabian!'_ A voice said in my head, and it was right. I begin to sniff, ready to burst into tears. I reached the door, luckily there weren't that many people around. Instead of going upstairs, I went into the kitchen, only to find a major surprise.

"Nina!" Jerome said, getting up from a small table in the kitchen area, "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here? And what's with all this stuff?" I said shocked. The ground around the table was littered with candles and the table was too. A small flower stood in a vase at the center of the table, and the lights were dimmed. I could hear soft, soothing music playing in the background that sounded oddly familiar. There was also a couple bowls of food on the table and the counter next to the table.

"Why, this… this is for….. for you!" Jerome said opening his arms towards me and then pointing to the table, stuttering to find the correct excuse, "and.. um… Fabian! Yes Fabian!" He smiled and clasped his hands together looking happy with himself. "I know how romantic and dreamy Fabian can be, so I thought I'd take the liberty of setting up an amazing romantic meal for you two during the party."

I scoffed, "Better change the menu to whatever Joy likes, because Fabian and her hit if off a long time ago." Jerome looked surprised and then smiled.

"Fabian and Joy, wow! Didn't know the little geek had it in him!"

I wanted to hit Jerome, instead I turned around and moved toward the door. However, it was already opening and Mara and Patricia appeared.

"There you are!" Mara said hugging me, "when I tell you to stay can you ple-" She stopped mid sentence, finally taking in the new kitchen scenery. "Jerome, what is this?" she said confused. Patricia on the other hand, look fairly impressed.

"This Mara is, no sorry was for Fabian and Nina." Jerome said through gritted teeth, though he seemed to be looking at Patricia. His features quickly changed to a smile, "But since they're no longer going to be together I don't want this to go to waste, so why don't you join me. I've got your favorite food, the relaxing music that you listen to when you study, and even candles!"

Mara was confused, which allowed Patricia to quickly gain control of the situation. "Alright, I'll just take Nina then, and why don't you relax and enjoy yourself Mara!" she said grabbing my arm with one of her hands, and with the other one grabbing the door knob, "You've done so much tonight, you deserve a break!" Mara looked like she was about to protest, but Patricia had already closed the door. Before she did I could have swore that I saw her wink, at who I don't know.

"Ok Nina!" Patricia said, straightening my back "Let's go see what's what. After all, nobody rains on Anubis's exotic flower!" And with that she dragged me to the one place I didn't want to go.

Back into the Party.

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_Next Chapter: What Guy's Desire_

_Expect an Update either tomorrow (hopefully) or Monday._

_REVIEW!_


	9. What Guys Desire

_I'm glad that I was able to get this chapter out today. Consider it a pre-valentines day gift! I would like to thank bookloverbookworm for their suggestion too. It really helped the story and will definitely improve the quality and the overall story arc. THANKS!_

_Enjoy and Review!_

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**Chapter 9 What Guys Desire**

**Patricia's P.O.V.**

'_I don't get why Mara looked so mad, I just helped her out a ton!__'_ I thought. Nina and I were leaving the kitchen and moving towards the front entrance. _'I had no idea Jerome was such the romantic, maybe he is a catch after all.'_

Putting Mara into the back of my mind I thought about Nina. She needed help. It wasn't long until word had spread that Joy and Fabian were wrapped around each other with Nina leaving the two in near tears. I was stunned to say the least. I thought Fabian would have chosen Nina, and went over to find other people who could shed some more light on what had happened. All of Joy's friends from the other house just laughed when I asked and pointed to Joy, who was tickling Fabian's nose. It was only because I had known Fabian for so long that I realized he was a bit uncomfortable. To anybody else, they were hopelessly in love.

It wasn't until I met up with Alfie that he told me what had really happened. He was nearby and heard the entire conversation. I specifically asked if Fabian had said that Joy was the girl he loved, and after a couple of bumps to the head, Alfie said he didn't hear it. Relief swept over me and I ran to find Nina. Luckily Mara found me, slightly annoyed by the advice I gave her regarding Mick, but told me to come with her to talk with Nina. Nina wasn't there anymore, and remembering what Jerome said, I decided to take Mara to the kitchen. Mara was understanding and all but the plan I had in mind for Nina was something that I think Mara would have objected too, so it was best to occupy her with something else. It was just sheer luck that Nina was there, saving me a ton of time that we didn't really have. I looked at my watch.

10:00 pm it read. Fabian had two more hours to official name Joy as his girl or go for Nina.

**Nina P.O.V.**

Patricia had been dragging me away from the kitchen to… well I'm not sure where, but I didn't want it to be the party so I began fighting back.

"Patricia! Let me go!" I said, trying to worm my way out of her grasp. She was not surprisingly strong and I wasn't able to do much. "Just leave me alone, I want to go to my room!"

"That's exactly where we are heading Nina!" Patricia said, stopping to stare at me hard.

"What?" I said shocked, forgetting my struggle. _'Patricia isn't bringing me to the party? What is she up to then?'_

She let go of my arm and sighed, "Look, I didn't think that Fabian would go for a girl of glamour over you, but-"

"Wait what?" I said shocked. _'Patricia actually cares about this weird love triangle? Why?'_

"Why do you care?" I said repeating my thoughts out loud.

"I care because I think that it's best for everybody here if Fabian and Joy don't get together." She said, before blushing "Plus, I think after about a year of secretly loving a guy you should at least get with him."

I blushed to at that statement. _'What's the worst that could happen Nina?'_ I thought, deciding to trust Patricia.

"Ok, what do you have in mind?" I asked, which made Patricia smile.

"Follow me." She commanded, leading me upstairs into my room. She sat me down on my bed and began going through Amber's wardrobe.

"Can I ask what you're doing in Amber's dresser, Patricia?"

"I'm getting you a more… flashy look let's say." She said, still digging through Amber's wardrobe. I didn't like the sound of "flashy".

"Care to explain?" I said, getting more uncomfortable by the second, "You could just use my wardrobe to if you want, I have some good clothes." Patricia turned around and gave a slight laugh.

"Nothing that screams 'this is what your missing Fabian'."

"What? Wait-" I began but stopped dead when I saw what clothes Patricia had pulled out. "Oh, no, no, no, no, NO!" I said jumping off the bed in shock.

"Come on Nina you need these clothes!" Patricia said pleadingly.

"No, what I need is Fabian to like me the way I am, not as some pimped out…. "call girl" like Joy was tonight!" I shouted back. I was about to leave my room when Patricia grabbed my arm.

"Listen Nina, I know that you're stubborn with you beliefs and all that, but if you're going to get Joy out off Fabian's arms then you need to do it by looking way better than her!" I was about to protest, but Patricia shut me up first, "Listen, I hate to tear down you confidence in Fabian, but let's face it. He's a guy. And what guys desire are flashy girls. You need to compromise, Nina. Love makes people do crazy things, and as they say 'All's fair in love and war.'"

"I don't they meant it quite like this, Patricia." I said laying back down on the bed covering my eyes. _'Am I really considering this?'_ I thought, _'Am I going to give up on principles? Gran told me never to dress to flashy, that it would lead to no good. Am I really going to do this?'_ I looked at Patricia, her eyes gave nothing away.

It was up to me.

I sighed.

'_For Fabian…'_ I thought. I got up, looked at Patricia, and straightened my back.

"For Fabian." I repeated out loud. Patricia smiled and handed me the clothes and started getting out some of Amber's makeup.

**Fabian's P.O.V.**

She was doing it again.

Trying to get around my waist, trying to get close.

Trying to get my mind off of Nina.

But I couldn't.

I needed to talk to her.

To explain what had happened.

And then somehow choose.

Joy….

or

Nina….

Joy was talking about something, her voice rhythmic and mesmerizing. She smiled at me and I smiled back, half-heartily though. Joy was beautiful, her clothes giving away a lot of skin. But that's one downside to Joy, she always dresses like that. And it's nice to look at, but after while it gets you thinking. That's what I like about Nina, she's more conservative, she doesn't reveal to much but still looks unbelievable desirable to everybody.

'_I wonder if she does it on purpose…'_ the thought made me laugh a little. Joy looked at me still smiling.

"What?" She said laughing a little herself.

"Nothing just thinking that's all." Before she could ask 'what?', somebody ran by, knocking into us. "Hey!" I called, letting go of Joy. The guy yelled back sorry but kept running. I soon realized that a lot of other guys were running the same direction. Towards Anubis House.

I began moving the same direction, but Joy grabbed my hand trying to keep me with her. "Come on Fabian, stay for a little bit. Put away some of that curiosity that's been running through the system the past year and relax."

"That curiosity led us to saving you, remember?" I said, softly trying to get out of her grasp, but she pulled me closer to her, her face next to mine.

"And now you found me, don't let me lose _you_ this time." Joy said moving her lips towards mine. The kiss didn't happen as we heard some rude whistling sounds coming from Anubis House and I pulled away before it happened.

"I'll be right back." I said, causing Joy to sigh.

"I'm coming with you then." she said.

"Fine let's go." I said leading her through the crowd. We finally reached the house to an odd sight. Everybody was crowded around the front stairs, mainly guys but a couple of girls were there too, trying to get their boyfriend's eyes off of whatever was on the stairs. I had a feeling Joy would be doing the same in a little bit. When we got through the crowd we saw Patricia the bottom smiling. She saw me and winked.

"Gentlemen, and whatever ladies may be present, I would to present an amazing young girl from Anubis House. One of the smartest, funniest, and beautiful girls on all of campus." Patricia said, her smile widening still looking directly at me, I felt Joy's hand tighten in mine.

'_I have a bad feeling about this.'_ I thought.

The front door opened and I could hardly believe what I saw. Everybody was gone; it was only me and the person stepping outside in my world. Even the increasing pain from Joy's grasp disappeared. The girl's clothes were practically attached to her skin they were so tight. She wore a short dress with stockings underneath and some heels on. Her top was cut just above her breast, leaving a sleeveless appearance, also revealing her belly button. Her skin seemed to radiate from all the makeup, and her cheeks were a hue of red. She had on eyeliner that really brought out her eyes and her hair was curled beautifully.

I heard a name from Patricia, though it was faint as I had already realized who it was and was completely enthralled by the girl at the top of the stairs.

Nina Martin!

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_As a guy, I have to agree with Fabian. A girl who shows off skin is good looking and all, but some who don't show off as much and keep you wanting is better in my mind. I just think that it makes it look like the girl has more respect for herself. Well now that you know that, please review._

_Next Chapter: The Poison in all Hearts_

_Update Tuesday or Wednesday_


	10. The Poison in All Hearts

_Hey! Updating early because I just learned a disturbing fact. THIS IS THE LAST WEEK OF HOUSE OF ANUBIS! Did anybody else think that it went by kind of quick? Anyways there was one review that really stood out to me (anonymous, sadly) but it is in regards to the previous chapter, and I guess sort of this one too._

_The 'sexist' review I'm a little shocked by. I do realize that guys never really marry for that reason. I wasn't even talking about marriage. I was talking about teenagers dating, where we can be a little... shallow in some cases due to peer pressure and media advertisements telling us what to look for in women AND men too._

_Sorry If I offended_

_Anyways..._

_READ AND REVIEW!_

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**Chapter 10 The Poison in all Hearts**

**Fabian's P.O.V.**

I didn't know what to think. Nina was gorgeous, more than gorgeous! I wanted to be with her, I wanted a part of that!

But at the same time I felt betrayed.

Nina had changed, and in a way I didn't like. Sure she was amazing looking and everything, but it also felt as though she sold herself out. I missed the other Nina, the one who didn't have to show off skin to look fantastic. The Nina who didn't put on huge amounts of makeup. The Old Nina.

The Nina I loved.

I began to look at her in hidden disgust. '_She's sunken this low? I can't believe it!'_

**Joy's P.O.V.**

'_She looks incredible, why would Patricia help her?'_ I thought. I'm pretty sure Fabian's and mines hands were white from the pressure I was putting on it, but he didn't seem to be paying attention which was also concerning. _'One thing at a time Joy! Deal with Nina first, then Fabian, and then Patricia. Nobody stabs me in the back like this!'_

With that thought in mind, a plan came to my mind. I saw one of my friends on the outside of the group of boys surrounding Nina and signaled her. She came over quickly, and I whispered my plan into her ear. She quickly disappeared back into the crowd and melted into the party. Satisfied that my plan for Nina was in play, I turned my focus to Fabian only to find he was in conversation with Nina.

I was angry, until I heard the tone Fabian was speaking in, which made me smile. Fabian had just helped out my plan.

**Fabian's P.O.V.**

Nina was coming my way, smiling seductively. All the guys made a path for her, many starring and whistling rudely. I tried to ignore them and focused on Nina.

She came up to me, got close to my face and whispered softly "Hello Fabes, enjoying the party, _yet_?" I brushed her away with my hand and backed up a little bit.

"Nina, what are you wearing? What happened to your other clothes?" I asked, trying to keep my anger under control. Nina didn't seem to notice the change in tone and continued swaying back in work, licking her lips softly.

"Does it matter? They were just so uncomfortable, I thought I would change into something a little less hot." She winked at me and leaned closer. I couldn't believe this, what the heck happened to Nina? I had a strange feeling that Patricia had something to do with this, as she had that dumb look on her face that screamed _'I did this, love her for me Fabian!'_.

I couldn't love Nina though, not this Nina at least.

"Nina, just stop ok! Just stop!" I said, pushing her back a little. I stepped back too, realizing it was into Joy. I felt Joy ready to embrace me, but right now I wasn't in the mood to hug anybody so I moved away from her too. "What's happened to you? What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on Fabian! I just thought I'd get changed into something more comfortable and sexy!"

"These clothes are from Amber's wardrobe! And even she isn't shallow enough to wear them!" I practically shouted. The second I said that I regretted it as I saw my words hit home with Nina. Her eyes changed along with her posture, becoming more humble and nervous. Joy's grasp seemed to loosen on my hand, I never realized how hard it was until she let go.

"Excuse me?" Nina said, although her tone wasn't exactly offended, more accepting really. She seemed to know that what she was doing was out of character, just confirming my belief that Patricia had led her to this. However, I didn't feel like backing down.

"You heard me! Look at yourself! This isn't Nina! The Nina I know wouldn't be caught dead wearing this, looking like she was working at a bar. That's not the Nina I lo-" I stopped quickly, my heart racing and my face turning red. I felt Joy's grasp tighten again and Patricia was smiling even wider. Nina just stared.

"What?" she asked, expectantly.

"Nothing Nina, just nothing." I said in defeat. "Look I can't be around you right now, ok? Just please, keep away from me for now, alright?" My grip with Joy's hand tightened, however it was my hand that was grabbing her's harder. Nina saw and looked crestfallen, even Patricia looked shocked. Joy smiled and led me away from Nina, offering comforting words for my heart mind. The other guys around Nina just fell in on her, ignoring what just happened, but she didn't pay them much attention. She just kept starring at me.

**Nina's P.O.V.**

I knew that this was a mistake. I knew it was a mistake to change myself, to think that Fabian was a guy who desired "skin" and "sexy attitudes". I'm such an idiot!

Some of the other guys were coming up to me, giving lame pick up lines. Patricia came and shooed them away, some more forcefully then other.

My body was burning, part from embarrassment, part from rage, and part from fear of crying. I felt like poison had just entered my heart and there was no antidote for it.

I exited the crowd, moving deeper into the party. People where looking at me but that look of love and desire I got from the boys at the house had disappeared to judgment and disdain. I could hear them whisper words I dare not repeat. Defeated, I sat down, expecting Mara to be at her same place. I found it empty and after looking around I saw Mara dancing with Jerome, singing along to the lyrics of the playing song with him.

I was done. Fabian had no respect for me, no love for me. I had done something stupid and had made a complete fool of myself. I wanted to cry, but no tears came. My mind began to wonder and I remembered something that was offered a couple weeks ago, but never truly considered it until recently.

_Flashback:_

_Exams were finally over and the teachers had called a meeting to go over some last minute information for the remainder of the year. Usually I pay attention to this stuff, but I was busy talking to Fabian, only one part really got my attention since it was addressed to the international students._

"_Since all of your exams are over and we teachers don't have much else for you this year," Mrs. Andrews said, "We have decided that if you are a international student than two weeks before school ends you may leave early. I don't think many of you will as there are many activities going on during these weeks, but the option is there. Please contact Mr. Sweet if you are interested."_

_I laughed and continued talking with Fabian "Why would I ever want to leave?" I thought._

**Nina's P.O.V.**

I laughed now at the irony. I had a ton of reasons now; all that remained to think about was if I really wanted to. Gran wouldn't mind, she'd be happy to see me again. Jokingly, she would complained over the phone that she was terribly lonely, but I could tell she truly was. And I wouldn't have to deal with Fabian and Joy's romance if I left. I leaned back in the chair and contemplated this.

I was very tempted to just leave, but then I remembered how Fabian had almost said something. _'Did he almost say love?'_ I thought to myself excited. It wasn't much but I was going with it. There was still hope, I just couldn't make a fool out of myself for the rest of the night. With an antidote in sight, I felt better.

Hope had returned.

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_Four Chapters Left + Epilogue!_

_Next Chapter: The Turning Tables_

_Update hopefully tomorrow (don't count on it though) or Thursday._

_REVIEW!_


	11. The Turning Tables

_My computer recently got a virus, so I'm typing this on the family computer. I hope to update on my usual schedule (every two to three days), but don't be surprised if I might be a day late or so._

_I'm also going out of town for a week as well and I'm hoping they have internet connection where I'm going (I think they do)_

_Anyways, Read and REVIEW!_

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**Chapter 11 The Turning Tables**

**Fabian's P.O.V.**

I was sitting down at a table with Joy just by the dance floor. The music was blaring kind of loudly, but not loud enough that I couldn't hear what Joy was saying. I felt comfortable being around her again, it reminded me of the old times when we would sit outside in the sun and laugh with each other, undisturbed by anybody and having all the time in world. For the first time that night I was comfortable.

Well except for earlier with Nina.

_'Nina degraded herself publicly, she's not the girl I knew anymore.'_ I thought to myself. I was kind of shocked how easy it was for me to just put Nina into the back of my mind, and to completely give up on her. But she made her choice, and if Nina could sink that low then I wanted nothing to do with her.

"You have that look again, Fabes," Joy said, playfully grabbing my cheek which made me smile, "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing at all." I lied.

She looked at me, angling her head sideways and looking directly into my eyes. "You thinking about Nina right?"

"What! NO! Of course not!"

"It's ok to admit it Fabian, I understand." Joy said, voice concerned for me. "Your disappointed in your new friend, but then again maybe you didn't know her as well as you thought you did."

I looked at her hard, what was she getting at? Seeing the confusion in my eyes, Joy continued. "How much do you really know about her? Do you know much about her old life? Why she wanted to come to the boarding school? You may know a little bit about her family but that's about it. Most of her life is a complete mystery to you, isn't it? That's why it was hard for you to accept that Nina would dress and act like that, right?"

I didn't want to believe it, but Joy had a point. I knew a little about Nina's family and her interests and likes, but otherwise I didn't know much else about her past. She never really opened up about that.

"That's why you and me are good together, Fabian. We practically know everything about each other!" Joy said, putting a hand on my face and stroking it there. "Plus, everybody at this party expects us to be together! And I'm one to always please the crowds!" She said smiling. I looked around, agreeing that it was pretty obvious that most people around us were happy for us. But these were people who were not in my house. I continued looking for my House mates, but could not find them. Joy lightly grabbed my chin and pulled my face towards hers.

"Now come on, let's dance shall we? It's your favorite song..." She said getting up and grabbing my arm, pulling me forward. She was egging me on playfully, and I resisted at first but I finally gave in smiling. The song was blaring and we began to dance away in an amazing bliss that I hadn't felt in a long time.

**Nina's P.O.V.**

Once again I was trying to pull the small shirt down over my belly button but I wasn't able to, not without exposing another part of my body. I had goosebumps from the cold breeze that was hitting me from every angle. There was nobody around to block the breeze as many of them had moved away from me, still whispering awful words that I knew would make my Gran ashamed of me. I was already ashamed of myself, I had compromised myself mental and morally for Fabian, because I was stupid enough to believe that Fabian would like this new "me". I looked at the dance floor and saw that Fabian and Joy had moved on to it, dancing to one of Fabian's favorite songs. Joy was getting pretty close to him and Fabian didn't seem to mind at all.

There had to be some way to remind Fabian that this wasn't the real me. But nothing came to mind. Perhaps it was the cold or the humiliation that blocked my thinking, I don't know!

I was about to start crying but stopped myself. I had cried enough that night, and I wasn't about to have people show pity to me. I had brought this on myself, so I would shoulder the blame. The song was halfway done and the two English lovebirds were practically attached to one another they were dancing so close. Fabian was slightly blushing, though he didn't seem to mind it to much, he was next to a beautiful girl that didn't degrade herself to please him. Joy was practically the perfect girl to most guys. I should of known that I didn't stand a chance the second she called him "Fabes" over the video chat in Victor's study.

The song was coming to a close, and the music had reached a high point. That's when I saw something that made my heart nearly stop. Fabian and Joy had stopped dancing and were looking into each other's eyes, moving closer to each other with their lips. I felt my pulse increase, I had to stop this, but how? Around them people were looking at them, Joy's friends were smiling happily and making unknown comments to others. A couple of the house mates (specifically Amber and Mara) looked uncomfortable with this and had shocked looks on their face.

I suddenly had an idea.

_'It's all or nothing Martin, this is your only shot! Time to turn the tables and go on the offensive.'_ I thought, getting up and moving towards the DJ booth were he had a microphone placed in front of him. I breathed quick shallow breathes as I approached the microphone, now doing a light jog through the crowd, trying to get there before the two of them kissed. The DJ looked at me with confusion, but I didn't care. I grabbed the microphone, thrusting it in front of face and turning towards Fabian, who still hadn't kissed Joy yet.

"Fabian, STOP!" I yelled into the mike. The music came to an abrupt stop and people gasped while turning to face me. Everybody was looking at me, stunned by the outburst. Fabian was surprised and looked at me in confusion while Joy looked really angry. Most of my other housemates were just waiting to see what would happen next, and even from a distance I could see the concern in most of their eyes. I took one more breath and said what I wanted to say to Fabian for the longest time.

"I love you."

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_CLIFFHANGER!_

_What will happen Next? Next chapter will decide whether Joy and Fabian are a couple or Nina and Fabian are a couple!_

_This ending was inspired from the show Community (NBC), and its season finale where Britta tells Jeff that she loves him to stop him from getting with her enemy Slater. The episode is "Pascal's Triangle Revisited" 1X26._

_I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING RELATED TO NBC'S SHOW COMMUNITY._

_The show is on Thursday's at 8, it's really funny, though maybe a little mature at some points._

_Next update: (Hopefully) Maybe Today because I'm sick and have time to write, but probably Sunday or Monday_

_Next Chapter: Life's Defining Moments _

_REVIEW!_


	12. Life's Defining Moments

_Alright an update! Also, the season finale! I was only able to watch the last half, does anybody know where I can find the other half? Plus, I have just learned that there will be a SEASON 2 (as long as my source is correct)._

_Anyways, here it is the moment of truth. The moment everybody has been waiting for!_

_dum.._

_dum dum..._

_dum dum dum dum..._

_dum dum dum!_

_DUUUUUUUM!_

_Please Read and Review_

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**Chapter 12 Life's Defining Moments**

**Fabian's P.O.V.**

'_Nina loves me?'_ I thought to myself. My body was rigid, unable to move due to the overwhelming amount of emotions that I felt. I had no idea what to do. I could once again feel Joy's grip tighten around my waist, but I wasn't really paying much attention to it. Nina was my only concern at that moment.

I don't know how long I stood still, but I could feel everyone's eyes digging into me, just waiting to see what I would do. I had no idea what I would do, though, as lost as them.

I wasn't looking at Joy, afraid what her eyes would show. Instead I was stared directly at Nina, hoping that she would do something to end the awkward silence that followed. _'Who am I kidding, she's already done this much! Now it's my turn."_

I let go of Joy, though she continued to cling on to me, as if begging for me not to go. But I had to. I let go of her once more and began moving towards Nina. The crowd had already split apart to allow me near the stage. I reached the stage and looked a Nina.

We stared at each other for a little bit, flashbacks of my time with Nina coming to me.

_Flashback:_

"_Your staring at me again Fabian," Nina said smiling. I quickly averted my eyes, coughing and blushing. She laughed at me. "Fabian, you've been staring at me for a while. What's up?"_

"_Oh, um nothing! You.. you just remind me of someone.." I said weakly. She smiled again and continued studying the most recent clue._

**Fabian's P.O.V.**

Joy was who she reminded me of in some ways. I continued staring at Nina, finally saying something.

"You love me?"

She smiled, looking at her feet. "Do you love me?"

"I have something to say!" A voice said behind us proclaimed. It was Joy, stepping forward from the crowd. She stopped in front of me, looking me directly in the eye, full of confidence and conviction. "Fabian, I love you." she announced. The crowd gasped, smelling drama like sharks coming to wounded prey. I heard Nina take in a breath also, probably out of concern.

"Fabian," Joy continued, "I love you so much. Since the first day that we met, I always felt that there was something special between us. I know you felt the same way, but didn't have the courage to say anything so I let it be. But then I was kidnapped, and everything changed. You changed, and not in a good way."

"Fabian didn't change in bad way, Joy," Nina said, gaining back some of her fire "He just realized how much of a manipulative jerk you can be." There were some jeers from the crowd at the first strike. Joy was shocked but didn't back down.

"I'm sorry, it sounds like somebody's getting cranky without their pole to ride you little skank!" Joy shot back, venom in every word. More jeers from the crowd and my face turned red. "Fabian began to like you because he saw you as a replacement for me. He was lonely and he needed somebody to love and you were that person, Nina."

"What?" I said shocked, that wasn't true… was it?

"Fabian, I know that this is hard for you to accept, but it's the truth. It's a psychological thing that you went through. My disappearance was traumatic, but I'm back now. You have to accept that Nina was just a scapegoat, somebody that you would use to ease the pain of my absence. Fabian, I love you so much. And I know that you love me too."

Joy's words were hitting home with me. _'Could this be true, Nina was just a way for me to escape from feeling bad about Joy? No, I felt something for Nina, something that was different from what I felt for Joy."_

"Fabian-" Nina began, but before she could actually say anything, she was interrupted by someone in the crowd.

"Fabian, who are you going to chose?" The girl shouted, Joy's friend, I could tell automatically. There was some mumbles from the crowd, they were getting impatient and wanted an answer soon. I looked at Nina.

Nina hadn't started off as a romantic interest, she was just a friend. Unlike Joy, who always was somebody that I secretly liked and wanted to be with. Then everything just happened so fast and then I began having feelings for Nina, just as I had for Joy. Ever since I found Joy, those feelings for her had returned as well, clashing with my ones with Nina. Was there really something different about Nina from Joy? There had to be! I tried desperately to think of something, but Joy's words kept blocking it out.

_"How much do you really know about Nina? Not much Fabian!" _Joy's voice in my head said.

"_Everyone here at this party expects you and me to be together!"_ the voice said again.

"_You can't escape that feeling that you felt when we kissed, you knew it felt right!"_ Joy's voice said again. Where was Nina's voice!

"_Nina is a scapegoat for you, Fabian! It was to ease the pain of me not being with you! You know this to be true, don't you?!"_

Yes… yes I did.

I looked at Nina, my hands were shaking more than ever before. She saw this and her eyes grew nervous.

"I'm sorry, Nina." I said softly.

"No…" She mouthed to me, holding her hands up to her mouth. "Fabian! She's lying to you!"

"I'm sorry Nina, don't make this any harder than it has to be." I said, pleading with her now, "Just stop, please!"

"Fabian I love you!" Nina said, pleading herself now. I breathed in hard, closed my eyes and turned to Joy.

"And I love Joy." I said opening them to Joy's happy face. She smiled at me, but her eyes looked deviously towards Nina, as if gloating to her. She stepped towards me and kissed me hard. I kissed her back and there was some clapping, mainly led by Joy's friends.

After we had finished, I opened my eyes to Joy's smiling face, I held her close, treasuring the moment. Joy's friends had moved onto the stage and turned the music back on. People began dancing again, laughing and smiling.

Nina was nowhere to be seen.

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_Please, Please, don't hunt me down and kill me!_

_Next chapter: Throwing Away the Lies_

_Update: Tuesday_


	13. Throwing Away the Lies

_Wow is all I can say right now. I'm so happy with all the reviews! Although it was for a rather unfortunate event that occurred to Nina, I still THANK YOU ALL FOR THE REVIEWS! It's great to have such a supportive fan base._

_Anyways,__ here is an update as promised. I hope it's good. We are now in the final three chapters, just as an FYI, so enjoy!_

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**Chapter 13 Throwing Away the Lies**

**Fabian's P.O.V.**

The days following the party were a mix of guilt and pleasure. Guilt for what I put Nina through, but pleasure with what I felt with Joy.

The following week had been more pleasure than guilt I must confess. With no homework or tests to study for, most of the school was crazy. Schedules were abandoned for fun time; mass orders of take out were ordered to the campus, people had abandoned uniforms for more comfortable clothes, people slept in until noon; it was mainly a grace period until the end of the school year.

And I spent most of it with Joy.

Every day I would wake up, most of the time Joy was right there watching me sleep. I was a little creeped out the first couple of times, but after that I began to enjoy waking up to her face. We would walk to breakfast and sit next to each other while talking about all sorts of things. We would walk to school and sit next to each other in the classes that we were forced to attend, even though we never did anything. She would always hold my hand and sneak a kiss whenever the teacher;s back was turned. Jerome would do a rude whistle, only to be hit softly by Mara.

I don't know when it happened, but Mara and Jerome were spending a lot of time together. They weren't dating or anything like that, but whenever Mara didn't have anybody to hang out with she was with Jerome. I guess it's a good thing as Jerome seems much tamer with Mara around. Alfie was then usually alone pulling his pranks, and they were usually unsuccessful as well.

However, Mara seemed to be ignoring me on purpose. Whenever I would try to talk to her she would say 'hey' and leave the room. In fact, several of the other housemates seemed to be doing the same thing. Mick was the only person that I really talked with anymore in the house besides Joy. Everybody else was just ignoring me. And I haven't even seen Nina to try to talk with her about what happened at the party. She's either been sitting alone at school or in her room. Even for meals when she's forced to sit at the table by Trudy she keeps her eyes on her food. Amber will try to say something to her but she'll ignore her and leave the room, hardly even touching her food.

I remember one day Joy and I were on the couch kissing. She was on top of me, her legs over mine, kissing me with such passion it was hard to keep up. The door opened, and I heard somebody enter alone. I was facing away from the door so I didn't see who entered. Joy looked up to see who it was, smiling at that person, then looking into my eyes and kissing me hard on the lips. I heard that person run upstairs and slam a door, hard.

I released my lips from Joy and turned towards the stairs to see who it was. Joy grabbed my face though and turned it back towards her's.

"Just Mara, excited about learning something new to impress Jerome." She smiled deviously and kissed me again. I didn't fully believe her but I was lost in her lips and love.

I always enjoyed these moments the most. Joy made me feel so special during these periods, and she easily over looked those… discomfortable moments that I felt I had to adjust my body to help her. She would laugh and didn't seem to mind. Part of me liked this, but my old, true self was uncomfortable with this.

Not all of our conversations were 'stimulating' either. Sometimes Joy would go on about more "girly" subjects that Mick said he often encountered with Amber, so I would just sit and nod my head.

'_You never had this problem with me.'_ A voice said in my head, _'With me you could always talk and not have these awkward moments.'_ I could have sworn the voice sounded like-

"Fabian, am I boring you?" Joy asked. I shook my head and she smiled and continued talking. _'Nina,'_ I thought, _'Get out of my head!'_

But that voice in my head had a point. Some conversation with Joy I felt so out of. She would talk about some stuff that I had no interest in, and despite me trying to get interested in the subject, it never happened. We would also sometimes hang out with Joy's friends from the other houses and I would be completely lost in what they were talking about. It was boring and just plain dumb. They would sometimes laugh at other students and just sound plain rude. I was disgusted by some of this to be honest.

But those times where Joy would hold on to me tightly, laughing and kissing me, warped my mind into forgetting about the negative and always live in the positive.

Then one day, something strange happened. I remember waking up earlier than usual to find Amber by at the table, looking red eyed and flustered about something.

"Amber?" I said cautiously, "What's wrong?"

She looked up at me scowling, her red eyes giving the appearance of pure hatred for me. "Why Fabian? Why couldn't you just said yes?" She asked, crying, "Why did you have to be listen to…" She never finished as she was engulfed in tears. I was stunned. I reached out with a comforting hand but she angrily got up from her chair and cried even harder. "Just go, Fabian! Just go!"

I left the room, shaking. I had never seen Amber this upset before over anything. Joy came down the stairs and smiled, "Hey cutie! What's up with Amber, did her daddy cut her credit card by a couple thousand?"

"Um, no I.. I don't actually know, but I think I need to go talk with Nina for just a second, Joy." I began moving towards the stairs, but Joy grabbed my arm hard, turning me towards her. "It will just be a second Joy, relax! I'll be right back." I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek continued to Nina's room. Suddenly the door bell rang and I went to open the door. One of Joy's friends stepped in and gave me a polite nod before signaling Joy over.

I was halfway up the stairs when Joy called out behind, "Fabian, wait!" Joy began sprinting up the stairs to where I was. "Charlotte," She said nodding to her friend that just walked in, "Said that the sun is in an amazing position! Why don't we go for a walk and check it out?"

"Um, I'm not really interested Joy." I replied politely before continuing up the stairs. She run up past me blocking my way.

"But it's really beautiful outside, Fabes! The sun is really nice and it would be really romantic!" She said pleadingly, "Nina will be here when you get back, just come on before we miss it."

I looked up the stairs, sighing before moving back down the stairs. I got my shoes and jackets and began to leave when I saw Amber again. She gasped and ran up the stairs in tears. Joy pulled me outside before I could call out and ask what was wrong.

Overall, the walk wasn't that great. Joy seemed to milking every moment of it for time, sometimes pointing out random objects and just having us stare at them. I just wanted to get back to the house and figure out what was wrong with Amber. Finally after about an hour we began moving back towards the house. We were on the main street leaving the school, where I first met Nina when she bumped into Patricia, when I saw several cabs go by. This was the day that international students could leave early if they wanted so there was a lot of hugging, call me's, and-

Crying….

I stood there in disbelief, Joy continued walking but stopped when her arm was held back by my still body. "What is it, Fabes?" she asked. I didn't respond, instead I began running towards Anubis House. Joy called after me and began running after me as well, her expression panic ridden.

I burst into the house to find all my house mates in the main foyer. "Where's Nina?" I said panting and trying to catch my breath. All of them stared at me in disbelief and hatred. "I said where is Nina?!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. I began coughing as my lungs couldn't take it, to have Trudy come running in.

"Fabian sweetie, are you alright?"

"No," I responded, still bent over trying to catch my breath "Where is Nina?" I repeated.

Trudy looked a little stunned and awkwardly replied. "She left this morning for America. She took the option to leave with the rest of the international students."

"WHAT!" I shouted, I began coughing even harder. I looked at my housemates, but none of them showed me any pity. "When- cough, cough- when did she agree to that?" I asked. I didn't remember her saying anything to me about leaving early, but then again I haven't talked to her since the party.

"She took it shortly after the crazy party that you guys had after Victor left." Trudy said, disapproving on the parties theme. "I know all of you were not big fans of him, but still, you should show som-"

"You hear that, Fabes?" Patricia said, "Looks like Joy won."

"What are you talking about?" I said staring at her in disbelief, my coughing fit coming to an end. Patricia rolled her eyes at me, anger building up in her face.

"I am so tired of this crap, Fabian!" She shouted at me.

Trudy gasped and scowled at Patricia. "Watch your language, young lady!" Trudy said sternly. Mara jumped in to stop Patricia from biting Trudy's head off.

"Trudy, I think Fabian could do with some water. We'll keep him calm, don't worry." Trudy eyed us suspiciously but went off to get some water anyways. Mara turned towards me and began to talk, "Fabian, Joy has been playing you since day one of her return."

I was about to respond once again with a 'what?' but Patricia began talking before me. "Joy has put on this nice girl attitude for you for a long time. She's really just a witch, or a troll, whichever is worse!" She said throwing up her hands in fury. I stared at the group, trying to process what they were telling me. _'Joy a witch? I've known her for a long time and I've never seen such a terrible person take her place!"_

"Your lying." I said flatly. Everybody groaned while Trudy came in with some water. I began drinking it, while Joy came sprinting through the door. She too looked exhausted from her sprint, panting hard.

"Fabes! You… can't… whoa! You can't run off like that!" She said laughing a little and then began to cough hard, I offered her some of my water and she took it thankfully.

"Nina left, Joy." I said to her. Joy looked at me and then the rest of the group, before shrugging.

"I was expecting it." she said simply.

"You were expecting it?!" Amber shouted, getting up from the chair that she was crying in, "Of course you were expecting it, you witch! You had this plan since day one haven't you! I HATE you!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Trudy I think we could do with another glass of water." Mara said. Trudy looked at Mara and then left reluctantly. She seemed to get the message of 'we need to talk, please leave us alone.'

"They seem to think that you've been playing some sort of game to get rid of Nina since you've gotten back." I said to Joy, my breathing coming back under control.

Joy laughed, and began coughing again. "A game to get rid of Nina? Yeah, ok sure!" She said mockingly, before drinking from the glass again to finish it all. "When I said I was expecting that it was because of her scholarship." All of stared at her in confusion, Patricia adopting a defensive stance. Why, I have no idea.

"Fabian," she said continuing; "You told me that Nina was here on a scholarship. Well, scholarships only go for a limited amount of time, and my friend who's father works with the admission department told me that Nina was only coming for a year. After that it was back to America so she could attend school there and get into college."

"You liar!" Amber shouted. Mick had to actually hold Amber back so she wouldn't tackle Joy in anger. Joy just looked at Amber nonchalantly before responding.

"Did she actually tell you how long she was going to be here Amber? Huh? Did she?" Amber looked at Joy, her body relaxing and her face turning away. "I'll take that as a no. You see Fabian, that's another reason why you and me are so good together, we can be together with no ocean to separate us." She leaned in to kiss me, but Patricia just grunted, interrupting the moment.

"I've still got proof that Joy manipulated her into leaving the school." Patricia announced. Joy's body began to tremble a little bit before she regained her composure. She opened her eyes and looked at Patricia.

"Well, it seems I can't even trust my friends anymore, Patricia." she said bitterly. "You're accusing me of this too?"

"I'm not friends with people who go super jealous and begin to use the people around them to serve their own purpose." Patricia said, pulling out her phone, I heard some beeping and she threw her phone at me. I caught it and eyed it suspiciously. "Just looked at the photo's, Fabian."

I looked at the phone. It was pictures of individual pages of a book with neat writing on it. There were a lot of photos of but a couple of them were marked 'IMPORTANT'. I finally realized what I was looking at.

"These are photo's of Nina's diary!" I said in shock, "Why would you do this to her privacy?"

"Just read them!" Patricia said. I saw Joy's face turn into a shocked expression and Amber's into one of triumph. I looked down at the phone, zooming in so that I could fully read everything that was written. I looked at it for a little bit, until I found something of interest. I read it, then read it again.

"I did this…" I said in disbelief. Joy moved towards me but I held out my arm and back up a little bit. "Nina says that.. that she's leaving early and… and canceling her scholarship!" I stared at it, wanting it to say something else. I continued reading for a little bit to try to figure out why. "She says it's because Joy.." I stopped, fury building up inside of me, "Because Joy told her friends to convince everybody she was a skank and a jerk because of the clothes she wore and it worked!" I looked at Joy, anger building up in my features. Joy held up her hands in peace but I continued reading. "It says that you've been doing this for a while, trying to get everybody to hate Nina. You did plan to get rid of her!"

"Fabian, listen to me!"

"Shut up!" I said, Joy stepped back shocked. Usually I would feel bad but not now, now it was only fury inside of me. "She's also leaving because… because I don't love her." The words sunk into my mind, Nina WAS leaving because of me. I turned to Joy angrily. "You manipulated me, all those ideas of us being perfect, making me doubt Nina, and saying everybody wanting us together! You played me!"

I caused this, but now I could fix this. I moved towards the door again, ready to run over to find Nina only to have Joy step in front of me.

"Think about what you're doing Fabian!" Joy said, "Your risking everything for a girl who's never coming back!"

"You lied, Joy! Nina's only leaving early, she's still coming back!"

"That's where your wrong, Fabes!" Joy said, her smile pure evil "Nina cancelled her scholarship completely!" My eyes opened wide in shock, "That's right, she wasn't coming and isn't coming back. Now, here's how I see things. I love you, I do really, you and I are great together. We are a match made in heaven. Let's just forget this every happened and move on because you know that we're perfect together. Please Fabian! Are you really going to throw away what we have on a girl who won't even be here next year!"

That last part stop me. Was I…

I stood there for a little bit, contemplating. Finally I knew what I had to do.

"That night, when Nina told me that she loved me, you had me convinced that she was just a replacement for you. That what made her great was she was like you."

Joy smiled and loosened her stance, believing everything was going her way.

"But that's not true. Nina was better than you in every way." I said evenly, starring Joy in the face. "It was you who took over her place, by weaseling your way into her position that she held since the beginning of our adventures, to save your worthless, evil butt."

Joy looked hurt, and I didn't mind a bit, continuing to look at her. For the first time in a long time, I smiled a true smile, not a smile caused by Joy's manipulative flirtation. "But I don't regret it, because I met Nina, and I feel in love with her. So to answer your question, yes. I am willing to throw away this lie in favor of Nina. I love her, and I'm done playing your games."

And with that I forced my way past Joy, who was limp from shock, and out the door sprinting towards the school to tell Nina the truth.

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_This chapter was pretty hard to write, I hope I did a good job convincing you that Fabian really did understand his mistake._

_PLEASE REVIEW!_

_Next update: Thursday or Friday!_

_Next Chapter: Final Plea_


	14. Final Plea

_Thanks for all the reviews! Once again I am loving reading them all._

_Some comments were very interesting and I responded to as many of them as I could. If any of you guys do have accounts and are just writing anonymously, please sign in as I would like to respond._

_Anyways here it is! Enjoy._

* * *

**Chapter 14 Final Plea**

**Fabian's P.O.V.**

I sprinted back towards the school's main entrance, my legs feeling weightless and my heart beating faster and faster every second. I still had no idea what I would tell Nina, how I could possibly explain to her how I had allowed myself to be manipulated by Joy. She already knew that, but it was no excuse. I had to confront it head on.

I finally reached the main entrance, slowing down as quickly as humanly possible. Mrs. Andrews was standing outside holding a clipboard and saying a few words to the multiple taxi drivers that were waiting to bring people to the train station which would bring them to the airport. When I stopped next to her she gasped in surprise and stepped back a little bit. Running around with hardly any break period had left me red in the face and extremely sweaty.

'_Great! Not only will I have to explain what happened with Joy, but I'll have to do it while looking like this!'_

"Mr. Rutter! What in the world! I thin-" Mrs. Andrews began but my coughing interrupted her and I held out my hand towards her.

"Mrs. Andrews! Ha – cough, cough – has Nina-" I began coughing harder than ever before. I should defiantly have gone with Mick on a couple of his runs just to stay in better shape. Of course, I didn't know that I would running for love. Mrs. Andrews pulled out some water from a nearby cooler and handed it to me. I took it graciously and downed the entire thing, most of it spilling onto my shirt. I drank a little too fast and began coughing out water, luckily missing Mrs. Andrews.

"I think you need to sit down and rest Mr. Rutter, before you pass out from something or... or start coughing up a lung." She reached out her hand and began patting my back in a comforting manner. I lightly brushed it off and looked at Mrs. Andrews again, slightly avoiding direct eye contact so if I started coughing again it wouldn't be directly in her face.

"Mrs. Andrews! Has Nina Martin left yet?" I asked. She looked at me for a second, more concerned about my well being then that of the girl I loved. "Please! I'm fine, can you just tell me?" I asked again. She relented and looked down at her list of students leaving. She flipped through a couple of pages before looking back up at me.

"Yes she has, she left for the train station almost ten minutes ago. She'll be taking the train and then heading to the airport to fly back to America." She looked up and gave me that concerned look again, it was really starting to make me mad! I know she's just trying to help me but right now I don't deserve any pity.

"Why are you interested, Mr. Rutter? I was under the impression that everybody in Anubis House had said goodbye to her. Did you forget to tell her something?"

I stared at Mrs. Andrews, "Yes, I've forgotten too many times." She looked at me as if I was deranged, which I guess I couldn't blame her for; I did look like a mess and now I was talking weird. But I was beyond appearances, only Nina mattered.

"Mrs. Andrews, do you think I could take a taxi to the train station?"

"I don't know, Mr. Rutter. Leaving school like that isn't usually approved as you well know." Mrs. Andrews said. I sighed, I was going to have to convince her to let me go, but I really didn't feel like confessing my feelings for Nina to her. It was going to hard enough with Nina, the last thing I wanted to do was do it in front of a teacher!

"Mrs. Andrews, please! I'm begging you! I won't leave the train station or anything! And I can just ride with one of the other students going there!" I persisted. I felt myself hunched over, practically ready to get down on my knees and start begging.

"I'm sorry, but all the taxis going to that train station have already left, if you were to go then you would have to convince somebody to take an extra stop."

"So I could go?" I asked hope coming up inside of me! Mrs. Andrews sighed, resigning to my persistence.

"Yes, if you can find somebody to drive you to the extra stop then you may go. Once there you can talk to Nina and then you must leave with Mr. Sweet. No going to the airport, understand?" I smiled and nodded. Mrs. Andrews nodded herself, "Good, now go find somebody to ride with Mr. Rutter, and I hope whatever you have to say to Ms. Martin is important. I don't see why it can't wait until next year or why a simple phone call won't work."

"This is too important for that," I said pausing, "She won't be coming back next year and I need to tell this before I never see her again!"

"Ms. Martin isn't coming back next year?" Mrs. Andrews asked, her tone questioning, "I didn't see any paper work about that."

I looked at Mrs. Andrews shocked, _'Had Joy lied? I wouldn't put it past her, but still, even then she seemed to be telling the truth. But how can I trust that?'_ I thought angrily, _'Great! Joy's been manipulating me so much that she has me going paranoid!'_

"What do you mean you didn't see any paper work Mrs. Andrews? I was told that she already turned it in and everything! Canceled her scholarship and won't be coming be coming back!"

"Well she might have, Mr. Rutter, but I haven't seen it. The paper work technically isn't officially filed until Friday, and I haven't seen all the files yet so I could be wrong." Mrs. Andrews said. I nodded to that explanation and turned away to begin looking for somebody to ride with.

'_Even if Joy had lied about Nina never coming back, that doesn't change anything.'_ I decided, _'She still deserves to know how I feel about her and not spend the summer in torment.'_

**30 Minutes Later…**

I got out of the taxi thankful for the ride, but not so thankful for who had I had to share it with. The person next to me just glared at me the entire time, and I fidgeted beside her. I hadn't been able to find a ride so Mrs. Andrews, annoyed with me and the disturbance and chaos I was causing deciding to put me into a taxi with someone who was going to the nearest stop after my detour. I was thankful at first for her help, but after a 20 minute in the taxi with none other than Joy's friend Charlotte I wasn't feeling quite so thankful.

We didn't say anything to each other, but she stared at me the entire ride. If it was to make me uncomfortable it worked, and I wasn't able to focus on Nina. I hadn't really given much thought to how I would actually tell her my true feelings or convince her not to think of me as scum.

Another thought just hit me. What if Nina had already caught her train? What if I just arrived and it was only Mr. Sweet? I tried to bury those feelings under ones of positive, but it didn't really work. My stomach was in knots and my throat seemed to be going dry. It also didn't help that I sweating now, but at least I remember deodorant this morning!

The second I got out of the taxi I saw Charlotte go for her cell phone. No doubt to call Joy and tell her what I was doing. _'Not much that Joy could do right now,'_ I thought relieved.

I moved up the steps of the small train station on the outskirts of the local town. There weren't many people around so I was able to make it the trains at relative ease.

I looked around the area, hoping to see somebody from our school. Mr. Sweet would be the easiest to recognize so I searched for him first. After a couple of seconds I saw his larger figure sitting down at a bench holding a newspaper and ironically looking at a candy stall. I offered myself a small smile at that and looked around him for any students.

I saw nobody, absolutely nobody. I began looking around the entire train station and still nothing. My heart began to slow down as realization that I missed Nina sunk in. I sat down at the nearest bench and put my head into my hands.

I had failed.

'_Nina was gone… just gone. I had lost my chance, she would never return. Nina would always remember me as a villain.'_

"Fabian…?" A voice said behind. That voice was sweet, mesmerizing, and made my heart nearly stop. I turned around to come face to face with someone I feared the worst for.

Nina.

"Nina!" I shouted before jumping off the bench, grabbing her, and spinning her around in a massive hug. I heard her let out a quick scream before I put her down. "Oh thank God your still here!"

"Yes, I'm still here, Fabian. What do you want?" She said, not with venom in her voice, but pretty close. I was little shocked, but I deserved it.

"Nina, I just wanted to tell you, before… uh… can we sit down for a second?" I said, buying time to formulate a plan. Nina silently gestured towards the bench I was just sitting on and we both sat down. Nina wasn't looking me in the eye, instead staring off behind me, I sighed ready to begin.

"Nina, Joy and I are not together anymore." I explained. "And I know that you could care less about Joy because I know what she did to you."

Nina looked up at me wide-eyed. "You… you do? How?" She questioned, looking me square in the eye. I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came.

"It's not important, what I'm trying to sa-" I began but Nina huffed and threw up her hands.

"It's important to me, Fabian! Now how did you find out!" she demanded.

I sighed, not looking her in the eye for this one "Patricia took pictures of your diary and showed them to me after you left." I winced away from her, not wanting to see her face and fearing what she might say. Instead, after a couple of seconds of not hearing her say anything I looked up at her. Her face was placid and a slight smile appeared on her face.

"I always thought my diary wasn't safe from Patricia's greedy eyes." She said letting out a small chuckle. I thought about making a joke about Patricia, but I decided against it. Now wasn't the time.

"She showed me a lot of the diary entries. Most of them that say that you love me?" I questioned. The second I did I regretted it, which Nina made sure I did by looking at me with annoyance.

"Did you have to read my diary pages to understand that, Fabian?!" She said, getting up from the bench. I felt my heart increase in rate and the sweat return to face.

'_I'm losing her!'_ I thought. I grabbed her arm and began pulling her back down on to the bench. "Nina, wait I… I didn't mean it like that! Please just listen to me!" She looked away again, not buying anything I was saying. I let go of her arm and began to beg.

"Please Nina, I… I know that I don't deserve you attention for what I did, but please! I don't want you to remember as a monster or something worse for the rest of your life. Please, let me explain!" I begged. I body was shaking hard, and I saw a flash of sympathy in Nina's eyes. She stared at me for a couple more seconds and then sat down without saying a word.

"Ok, go."

I let out a sigh of relief and began my final plea. "Nina, first off I'm so sorry for what I put through. The humiliation that you felt in front of most of our grade, how I turned you down and made a fool out of you." I could practically feel Nina's discomfort forming, I decided to change the tone, "And I wish I could take it all back! Redo everything! Joy…Joy had me convinced that you were some kind of replacement for her. That you somehow were exactly like her and that I had stupidly fallen head over heels for you because I missed her. But that's not true. Because the truth is…"

I began to falter. _'NO! Not now Fabian, don't stop now!'_ I cried through my head.

"The truth is she was trying to replace you." I continued with conviction. "You, Nina, you are better than Joy in every way. You're smarter, funnier, more interesting, and certainly more beautiful. She was jealous, and she began plotting to get rid of you. And I'm so ashamed to say it worked."

I was staring directly into her eyes. I could see them desperately wanting to show some sort of emotion, but her body would not allow it. Instead she continued to stare at me, face bare of emotion. I decided to drive the point home.

"I don't expect you to forgive me, but I want you to know this. You Nina, you are without a doubt the greatest person I have ever met. And that I love you. With all my heart. Nothing can change how I feel, and I am so sorry for what happened to you because of me." I smiled, hoping for the best.

Suddenly a train pulled up and slowed to a stop. The door opened and a voice sounded over the intercom:

'_Now Arriving at destination, next Destination London Airport.'_

"Ms. Martin!" I heard Mr. Sweet call over to us, "This is yours!"

"Just a second Mr. Sweet!" Nina called back. She stared at me for a couple of seconds, which felt like hours. My heart was beating faster than ever before. I had bet it all on this moment, and now I was hoping not to be slapped across the face for having the audacity to come to her, begging for forgiveness.

"I love you too, Fabian." Nina said smiling, "I love you so much." She leaned and I didn't hesitate like I did with Joy. Our lips touch in a perfect moment of serene bliss. She smelled wonderful, and I hope that I smelled somewhat presentable. She wrapped an arm around my neck, pulling me closer to her body. I wrapped an arm around her waist, savoring every moment available. We finally pulled apart. Nina began to cry silently.

"I have to go. I'm so sorry Fabian! I wasn't strong enough to deal with Joy and I canceled-" I didn't want to hear her say it.

"I know you canceled the scholarship Nina. Joy told us, it was her last attempt to get me to stay. But I couldn't, not without you knowing the truth."

She began to silently cry a little and I brought her into a comforting hug, trying not to cry myself. "I wish that there was some way, some way that I could stay." She lamented, "But once the paper work is in it's in, and you know how many students are trying to get into the school. They probably already have the paper work filed and my position assigned to somebody else."

"I know." I said to her, "don't worry, it'll… it'll be ok somehow."

"Ms. Martin, I must really insist on you getting on the train before it leaves without you!" Mr. Sweet said coming up behind us. Nina nodded and gave me one last kiss. I didn't hold back but I did see Mr. Sweet turn away pretending to check the time.

"I'll figure out something Nina, find some way that you can come back next year! There's a way around it, I'm sure." Nina smiled at me.

"You think?" she asked, hopeful.

I laughed for the first time in a while, leaning in closer so Mr. Sweet wouldn't hear "If we can stop somebody from gaining eternal life, I'm pretty sure this will be no sweat."

Nina smiled and kissed me one last time before she got on the train, tears coming down her face. The doors closed and the train let out a couple of loud whistles. It then began to move and while Nina waved to me out her window. I waved back and began a light jog next to the train until I ran out of platform. Nina then disappeared from sight and soon the train did as well.

I heard Mr. Sweet call to me, telling me that it was time to get a taxi back. I stood there for a little bit before slowly moving back towards Mr. Sweet and then out of the station.

The hardest part was over, and I felt rejuvenated. Now it was time to get Nina back for good.

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_Next and final Update: Sunday_

_Next Chapter: Epilogue or What's a Guy to Do?_

_REVIEW!_


	15. Epilogue

_It is with great pride that I present the final chapter in our story._

_As always, please enjoy!_

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**Chapter 15 Epilogue**

**Fabian's P.O.V.**

After about five or so minutes, Mr. Sweet managed to flag down a taxi to bring us back to the school. We got in silently and were driven back to the school at a comfortable pace, giving me enough time to digest what had just happened.

Unfortunately for me, Mr. Sweet was oblivious to what had just happened between Nina and I, and insisted on making small talk. For the first ten minutes he pointed out animals, flowers, leaves, anything related to biology and began to talk about their growth and life cycle. I would nod back and maybe say a sentence or two in response. My geeky side would have loved to listen to every moment of this, but right now my social side which was finally blooming, although kind of badly, was more interested in Nina and what would happen when I returned back to Anubis House.

I still had no idea how I would follow through on that promise to Nina about getting her to come back next year. I would do anything to make sure she returned though, I was desperate to be with her. I couldn't picture another year where I didn't have somebody like Nina to have by my side.

Finally Mr. Sweet seemed to get the message that I wasn't interested in talking about biology. I felt bad because Mr. Sweet was very nice and I really hate to be rude. About a minute later though, I didn't feel so bad when he began asking questions.

"Is everything alright, Fabian? That little episode with Nina back at the station was something much unexpected." Mr. Sweet questioned nicely.

'_So he wasn't oblivious, he was just being nice and not asking about it.'_ I thought. I sighed, I might as well get it out of my system before I have to tell the rest of the house.

"No, not quite Mr. Sweet. Nina isn't coming back next year and I just wanted to say a final goodbye to her."

Mr. Sweet gave a small laugh, "Well your final goodbye was quite a romantic stunt Fabian, if I do say so myself." He began laughing again. I wanted to get mad at him for laughing, but I decided against it. Mr. Sweet was a hard guy to hate, even when he knew he was part of the whole "secret cult" thing.

"I guess so. I just wish that she could come back next year. She wants to come back too, but she's concerned that somebody has already taken the spot." I responded. Maybe Mr. Sweet could help me, he did work in admissions and if Nina was going to get admitted back, he was my, no our, best bet.

"Hmm, Nina did seem quite set on leaving when she turned in the paperwork. What in heaven's name made her change her mind, and why did she want to leave in the first place?" Mr. Sweet asked.

"Um, long story?" I offered, pretty weakly I might add. Mr. Sweet merely nodded back at me and stared at the road ahead of us. I sighed, it looked like Mr. Sweet wasn't going to help with Nina.

After a couple more minutes of silence, we arrived back at the school. Mr. Sweet immediately got out and rushed back into the school. I followed him, heading towards the cafeteria for a late lunch. I really didn't want to go back to the house; I just needed some more time to think and my friends fawning over me with pity wouldn't help at all.

I got my lunch and began eating. What was supposed to be my moment of Zen and meditation just turned into me only thinking about Nina and how much I loved her. I was thinking about texting her, but then I remembered that she was probably at the airport trying to get through security and didn't need to be bothered.

I finished my lunch, put my tray away, and began walking around the grounds. My path led me to where I first met Nina, when she crashed into Patricia, saying a thousand sorrys and continued running off. The memory was still fresh in my mind and I smiled at it.

I continued walking until I came to the woods, where the Sibuna meetings came to my mind. I remember Nina taking charge at all of them, fearlessly leading us towards the hidden truth within Anubis House.

I reached a large field of grass, where Nina and I would lay under the stars at night. I would point them all out to her in the sky while she would listen carefully, slowly moving closer and closer to me. I remember my heart beating faster and faster and my words getting more stuttered by the second. In the center of the field was a sole tree, where Nina and I would meet up and study together, although most of the time we just talked.

Finally I reached a small hill, a place of regret for me and little while ago. Nina and I were running for some reason and we both fell down the hill. When we neared the bottom, I grabbed Nina mid-roll and pushed her into my chest to block some of the impact of hitting the bottom. It took the wind out of me and Nina lay on top of me laughing. I should have kissed her then, but after a few seconds of silence Nina said I should probably go to the nurse. I could tell she was disappointed that I didn't try anything, I was too.

An hour had passed by the time I had finished my walk around the campus. I returned to the house, walking up the steps as slowly as possible. I took a couple of breaths, composed myself, and then entered the house. I saw on the left side everybody in the living room, doing random things.

'_They were waiting for me to come back,'_ I thought to myself smiling. I began to move towards them, but they had all stood up and began moving towards me. Except for Joy, who sat at the kitchen table by herself, looking at me with a smirk on her face.

"Well mate, I'm assuming from the amount of time you spent out that you met with Nina." Mick asked, he was trying to hold onto Amber, but she exploding outwards not able to take it anymore.

"What happened, Fabian?" Amber screamed, "Did you see Nina? Did you two fix your relationship? I like been texting her for hours but she hasn't responded to anything! GOD! Fabian, what have you done?" Amber was now in my face literally, Mick and Mara had to grab her and drag her back just to give me some breathing room.

"Give him some space, Ams! Let him answer in his own time!" Mara said, clearly trying to lighten the mood. I called her bluff when I saw the same desire in her eyes as everybody else. They was dying to know what happened. I decided to not keep them waiting, but I did sit down in an armchair before starting.

"Nina wasn't at the school entrance, so I took a cab to the train station that she went to." I started. I saw Amber shaking from head to toe.

"Oh Fabian! How romantic! It's just like those rom coms where the bold, handsome man chases the sexy and dashing women-"

"AMBER!" Everybody shouted, looking at her and then back to me. Amber muttered a quick sorry before looking at me again. I stared at Joy for a second.

'_She isn't reacting to any of this, but why should she? Nina isn't coming back next year, so she thinks she's won!'_ I thought to myself.

"Anyways, I met up with her at the train station and we talked for a little bit." Everybody was literally dying in front of me. Knowing that they didn't want to hear all the small details I decided to cram it all into one big statement. "I told Nina that I'm sorry and that I loved her," All the girls gasped "and she said she loved me," the girls gasped again, the guys smiling also, "and then we kissed." I finished blushing furiously. All the girls, minus Joy, cheered and Mick came up and to pat me on the back. Amber I think was actually crying. Patricia spun around and looked at Joy.

"HA! Boom! Good beats evil always you little devil!" If looks could kill, then you could count all of us dead. Joy had the most furious look on her face that I have ever seen. If you combine all the scary faces you have seen in your life into one face, then you are still nowhere near what Joy's looked like. I think she even scratched some marks into the table from her nails digging into it.

Mara, smiling still, decided to brave the next question that was on everybody's mind, "So, is Nina coming back next year?"

Everybody grew quiet. It was the question that I feared the most. I didn't want to give Joy the satisfaction that she had still technically won, not when she was so down in the dumps right now. I also didn't want to make Amber's tears of joy turn into tears of sorrow. I heard the house phone ringing in the background and Trudy moving from her downstairs room to get it. After a moment, I opened my mouth to respond when Trudy came in.

"Fabian, sweetie! Mr. Sweet wants to see you immediately."

"Can't it wait!" Amber said rudely. Trudy gave her a surprised look as did everyone else, nobody talks to Trudy like that. Once again, Mara jumped in to calm the situation.

"I think what she means Trudy is that we're in the middle of something big and we just wanted to know if it could wait just a second." Mara said lightly, though her tone still filled with excitement.

Trudy shook her head, "'Fraid not dears, Mr. Sweet said he wanted to see Fabian immediately. It has to do with Nina."

That did it; I was up out of my seat, moving towards Mr. Sweet's office. I heard Amber huff in frustration, but I really didn't care.

I reached the school, dashing up the stairs towards Mr. Sweet's office. I knocked twice and heard a "enter". I opened the door to find Mr. Sweet sitting at his desk holding a file that said 'Nina Martin' on it. Mrs. Andrews was there too.

"Mr. Rutter," Mrs. Andrews began, "I believe you were curious about whether Ms. Nina Martin could return next year?" I felt my heart start beating faster, had Mr. Sweet really done something?

"Yes." Was all that I could manage to get out. I was ready for this conversation to go anywhere, do anything to get Nina back into this school.

"Well, Mr. Sweet has approached me about this matter and I believe that we can make it work." Mrs. Andrews said, "Mr. Sweet." She said motioning for him to continue. He nodded and cleared his throat before opening the file on Nina.

"Nina Martin is without a doubt one of the best students in the international program we have here at this school. Her grades are all A's and her testing scores are off the charts!" Mr. Sweet said excitedly. "The bottom line, Mr. Rutter, is that she casts an amazing image for this school. With that, we would love to have her back on the normal terms of her scholarship."

I couldn't help myself, I began smiling like an idiot. The excitement was brewing inside of me, I would get her back!

"However, there is a slight problem with her current dorm."

I wanted to scream. Out of all the things that there could be a problem with, why did it have to be with where she would live!

"As you know, Fabian," Mr. Sweet continued, "there are currently nine students living in Anubis House. School policy is very clear on this matter, only eight students per house. Four boys and four girls. We allowed for the nine students in Anubis House because it was so close to the end of the year. If Nina is to return next year, then she would have to reside in another house."

The second he said "another house" everything stopped. If Nina wasn't in my house, then that would cause so many problems. She already had a hard time adjusting to this school; I didn't want to see her go through another year of finding new friends and everything. Plus that would mean that we would spend less time together, and I would spend more time with…

Joy.

I offered a counter proposal. "What if you move Joy to the other house? Nina is much more liked currently, and it would make next year easier for everybody in Anubis House."

"Why exactly is Joy not liked, Mr. Rutter?" Mrs. Andrews chimed in. I was about to respond but thought better, not really wanting teachers involved in our social lives. With no response, Mr. Sweet decided to mediate and resolve the issue.

"Joy Mercer, as I recall, has been a long time member of Anubis House. It would be extremely unfair to move her for Nina, who has only spent one year at this school, while Joy has been here since the sixth grade. I also do not believe that you speak for the entire house, so I suggest you stop talking about your 'problems' with Joy. If I remember correctly, you went through quite a lot to get her back, Fabian."

Mrs. Andrews nudged Mr. Sweet, signaling him to shut up. I looked at both of them, who both returned my stare.

"Wait a minute..." I muttered, looking at the two teachers with shock. "You're doing this for more than just Nina's good grades aren't you? You want her close by so she can't go blabbing about your secret cult!"

"We have offered you a deal Mr. Rutter, a very generous deal I might add. We suggest you take it." Mrs. Andrews replied coldly. I could tell they weren't going to budge on the whole Joy issue and the secret cult issue, so I decided to deal with the snakes.

"Which house would Nina be in?" I asked, my words solemn and grim sounding. Mr. Sweet looked into Nina's file before responding.

"Odin House."

'_Odin House,'_ I thought,_ 'That's all the way across campus, and this year it only…'_ I silently gasped in realization, _'It only had seven people.'_

"That was the house that Nina was supposed to be in this year? Right?" I asked the teachers. They looked at each other Mr. Sweet nodded to me.

"That is correct." Mr. Sweet responded.

"Now, Mr. Rutter, will you agree to this on Ms. Martin's behalf? It seems that she also wants to return, so we will take you answer as representing her desire." Mrs. Andrews said.

I don't know when I began to sweat, but I could feel the perspiration on me. If I agreed to this deal, I got Nina back! But she wouldn't be in the same house as me, leaving me with Joy and Nina with complete strangers! I decided to try one more time. "Are you sure that you can't just switch Joy and Nina?"

Both of them shook their heads.

I felt my body shake a little bit, hopefully not visibly. My stomach was doing knots, but I knew what I wanted. Without thinking about any other ways to get Nina into Anubis House I responded.

"I accept."

Both of them smiled and nodded. "A wise choice Fabian! I assure you that Nina will get along nicely in her new house." For some reason he stuck out his hand like we had just made the deal of the century and wanted to shake on it. I shook his hand anyways, thanked them and left. I pulled out my cell phone and tried to call Nina, _'I should have done that before I accepted!'_ I thought angrily to myself! But the past was the past and there was nothing I could do to change it. I was getting Nina back, and that was good enough for me, and hopefully for Nina.

After a couple of rings I got her voicemail. I guess she was on the plane home. It had been two or so hours since she left campus.

Instead of walking around campus I moved back towards the house. As I entered everybody was standing in the foyer, waiting to hear what had happened. Nobody even asked, just stared at me. I smiled, despite the deal I just made.

"Nina is coming back next year!" I said holding up my hands in excitement. Everybody cheered and Amber began crying again. Mara jumped into Jerome's arms and he spun her around. Patricia allowed herself a big smile. Alfie was doing some sort of weird dance, and once again Mick was giving me a big pat on the back. I saw Joy storm off upstairs, and slam her door shut.

"God! I will be so happy next year when we don't have her here!" Patricia said. My smile disappeared; I once again had no idea how to tell my housemates the bad news. There were murmurs of agreements from all the housemates, "She is moving out of this house next year, right?" Patricia questioned. I looked at them for a second and then did a fake smile.

"Mr. Sweet said that he would try." I said. Most of the housemates took that as a yes and began to shout in happiness again. I gave a small smile. I had just lied to my friends; and I knew at that moment that next year wasn't going to start off good.

**Later that Night**

It was getting dark outside and most people had begun to move upstairs. I was still in the living room watching a little bit of TV when Amber came bounding down the stairs.

"Come here, Fabes! There something I want you to see!" She grabbed me by the arm and pulled me upstairs towards her room. We went by Joy's room with Patricia and Mara as her roommates. I could hardly fathom how Patricia and Mara would last the next two weeks of school.

Amber pulled me into her room and grabbed her computer, putting it on Nina's empty bed. She clicked some buttons and a red light appeared above the computer screen. Suddenly a familiar face popped up.

"Hey there Nines! I've got a friend here!" Amber squealed, bouncing up and down. I smiled and Nina smiled.

"Fabian! Guess what! I just got a call from Mr. Sweet! And he said that I-"

Amber interrupted Nina, "We all know Nina! Fabian talked with Mr. Sweet and got him to let you back in next year!" She squealed again "We can be best friends again next year!" Nina held her hands up to her mouth, stifling a surprised gasped. She began to laugh and smile.

"You did this, Fabian?" She declared, as I sort of shuffled on both feet and smiled.

"Well…. Kind of." I replied. Nina gasped and laughed again; smiling the most beautiful smile I have ever seen.

"I'll leave you two alone for a little bit!" Amber said, running out of the room and closing the door loudly. I smiled at Nina, bending over to get closer to the camera. We both looked at each other smiling dumbly. The silence wasn't bad, it was nice. It was our first break in a long time where we could just, well sort of, be around each other without any worries. Nina broke the silence first.

"What are we going to do about Joy, Fabian? She'll still be in the house next year, and I don't know if I can sleep with her around." Nina asked. I saw her eyes go concerned, and I felt the instant need to comfort her. She didn't know that she was Odin House now, that she and I wouldn't be together.

'_Of course she wouldn't, we don't get our house assignments until the first day of school.'_ I thought to myself. I wanted to tell her the truth, but right now I could only think of doing one thing.

Lie.

"Well Mr. Sweet said that next year Joy could possibly move out of the house, because you know they have the eight student policy here and all that." I said, giving a reassuring smile that seemed to work on Nina. She smiled back and we stared at each other in a comfortable silence.

"I miss you." I said.

"I miss you too." She said, "Don't go hanging around any English girls while I'm gone, Fabian, ok?" She said giving a devious smile. I did the same and began laughing.

"The same goes for you! No American dudes!" I said. Concern built up in me, from what I've seen from those commercials, America guys are all buff and good looking. Maybe I should start working out a little.

"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you!" Nina said, reading my mind. "I love you, with all my heart." She said.

"I love you too." I responded. She kissed the screen, laughed and wiped it away clearing some of the fog.

"I have to go, text or call me ok? I don't think I can go three months without hearing your voice." Nina said. I nodded and laughed. She said bye and logged off before I closed the computer.

I had just lied to Nina, is that how I start this new relationship? End an old relationship built off of a lie and start a new one with a lie?

But what was I going to do? I wanted Nina, and I knew next year would be tough, but I had confidence that we would make it through together. Nothing could stand between us.

What's a Guy to Do?

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_First off, thank you to all my readers! Your reviews have been keeping me going this entire time! This has been my first major story and I am so happy to know that it has been such as success!_

_It is now official: there will be a sequel! The sequels title is 'All is Fair in Love and War'. Some background info on the upcoming story:_

_- There will be more than 15 chapters_

_- The Mara/Jerome thing will start to take off, along with conflicting Amber/Mick_

_- Romance will be everywhere_

_- Charlotte will reappear! She will play an important role_

_- A brand new group of students will be introduced! Including a new house!_

_- Joy will be evil!_

_The thing that I am most concerned about is that with a second season, I at least want something of my story to have some connection to it. But it probably won't. This is going to be a complete Sandbox experience for me, which I'm very excited for, and I hope that you are too._

_Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to read this story. And prepare for the sequel!_

_WHICH IS OUT NOW! _All if Fair in Love & War! _Check it out on my profile!_

_AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!_


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